"Got robbed of a first round finish" - Anthony Pettis blasts officials after Joel Alvarez’s TKO call blunder at UFC Rio

Joel Alvarez triumphed at UFC Rio; however, many in the MMA community, including Anthony Pettis, believe the referee robbed the Spaniard of a more decisive win in the fight.

Alvarez took on perennial welterweight contender Vicente Luque at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Confusion soon ensued as the Luque went down in the opening round, accusing his opponent of an eye poke.

However, after revising the tape, it was revealed that it was, in fact, a legal blow that landed on the fighter. Upon the revelation, referee Osiris Maia seemingly waved off the contest, only to restart after getting Luque checked by the ringside doctor.

Sure enough, the MMA world was far from happy with the incident, with many, including Michael Bisping, a commentator for the event, voicing his discontent live on air. As 'The Count' saw it, the fight should've been ruled a TKO in Alvarez's favor.

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Pettis, a former UFC lightweight champion, was also furious with the referee. As the fight restarted, he took to X to write:

"We’re just going to ignore Joel Alvarez got robbed of a first-round finish and enjoy this fight? Cool."

Check out Anthony Pettis' comments on Vicente Luque vs. Joel Alvarez below:

Nevertheless, 'El Fenomeno' dominated through three rounds, earning a unanimous decision, scoring 30-27 across the judges' scorecards. Alvarez is now 23-3 in MMA and is on a four-fight win streak in the UFC.

---

Joel Alvarez shares his take on the eye-poke controversy

While Joel Alvarez refrained from directly targeting the referee for the confusion that ensued during the first round of his fight against Vicente Luque, 'El Fenomeno' reaffirmed that he had not poked his opponent in the eye at UFC Rio.

Talking to Michael Bisping during the post-fight interview, the 32-year-old urged the officials to re-check the footage, while proclaiming that he had not violated any rules in the contest:

"I think it was a legal strike, my hand was closed, we can watch the replay. I never hit with an open hand; my hand was always closed, but Vicente felt [it was an eye poke], but he came into the fight, but my hand was closed the whole time." [2:13 minutes into the interview]

Edited by Ujwal Jain