Only one guy counts in the discussion and that's referee Herb Dean, but anybody watching last night's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" saw Akira Corassani tap and Dustin Neace robbed of a victory.
Late in the first round, Neace caught Corassani in heel hook/knee bar and it was pretty clear that he tapped, once, if not three times, with his right hand.
Neace, thinking the fight was finished, let the pressure off and Corassani popped free. Neace was mentally shot from there and got drilled by a left hook in the second that dropped him and eventually sealed the deal for his opponent.
On the tap, that wasn't ruled a tap, Corassani says he didn't tap, but then says he did.
"I've watched it maybe 100 times and I know for myself that I never tapped. Herb Dean has refereed thousands of fights and he didn't see a clear tap. Usually it's a horror scene when somebody taps from a heel hook. People start screaming and crying," wrote Corassani. "I raised my hand and tapped one time on his thigh but it wasn't one of those dramatic taps like a metal drummer. It slipped out and I just went up on him. I would be honest and say I tapped if I did."
Corassani says from there, he slipped out. Is that what happened or did Neace think the fight was over?
"[...] The other was that when he had me in a heel hook it wasn't there. It wasn't in. If you watch the video again you see my knee pop out because he slipped. He lost his grip. I was thinking 'holy shit he's got it!' I changed my mind the moment he slipped."
Corassani said it was survive and advance.
"I was almost gassed just walking into the cage. Whatever, I'm a professional and I got the job done. I had double vision the whole fight. I actually don't remember anything from that fight. I just remember two things. One is the knockdown."
Dana White bit his tongue, but admitted that no one would've complained had the fight been stopped. Dean is highly respected so he's getting a break here. One can only imagine what would've happened had Steve Mazzagatti made the same mistake.
Photo and tip via MMAMania
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