It took less than one round for controversy to rear its head at the TUF Live finale.
In the night’s opening bout, Erik Perez was awarded a submission victory over John Albert via arm bar, but the question of whether or not Albert actually gave up will be debated for some time to come. Perez had him trapped in the hold, but Albert never tapped out, and didn’t appear to verbally submit either. Despite that, referee Kim Winslow called a halt to the action at 4:18 of the first round.
After the fight ended, Albert immediately protested while Perez admitted that he never heard Albert voice a submission.
Prior to the finish, Perez did well just to even stay in the fight, as Albert appeared close to locking up a triangle choke victory. He had Perez trapped for over one minute but could not earn the finish. When Perez knew he was clear, he began dropping hammerfists from the top, bruising Albert’s face in the process.
Finally, after a series of punches, Perez escaped, ended up on top and immediately transitioned into the fight-ending arm bar. Albert looked to be in pain but never made a move to tap before the finish was called.
The win came in Perez’s octagon debut, and his sixth straight overall victory improved his career record to 11-4.
Albert fell to 7-3, dropping his second straight UFC fight.