LAS VEGAS – Trey Ogden hopes he gets his win money after the abrupt ending to his fight against Nikolas Motta.
Ogden’s lightweight bout with Motta this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 232 was ruled a no contest after referee Mike Beltran mistakenly thought Motta was out from Ogden’s arm-triangle choke in Round 3. Motta immediately got up and protested the stoppage.
Ogden (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was up two rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards. With dominant position secured on the ground, Ogden says he was en route to winning the fight had Beltran not made an error.
“I’m just trying to keep my composure and be a professional,” Ogden told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 232 post-fight news conference. “Life happens. I’m no stranger to adversity, but this one hurts. I mean, records are records, numbers are numbers, but I really hope I get my win purse because I deserve it. And I won all three rounds.”
Instead of a no contest, Ogden thinks the fight should have gone to the scorecards which would have resulted in him winning the fight.
“There’s a tremendous amount of sacrifice that goes into this game and the sport for me and my family and financial sacrifice,” Ogden continued. “I did nothing wrong. I did my job. I fought as hard as I could. It was an exciting fight. It was a tough fight, and I won.”
Ogden argues that it was only a matter of time that Motta (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) went out from the choke. The 34-year-old has now won just once in four octagon bouts.
“There’s no way possible Nik was getting out of that (choke),” Ogden said. “Anyone who has trained with me knows that, anyone who knows my career knows that and whether he tapped or not, Nik Motta knows he was not getting out. So, in my eyes, I won the fight. I just hope I get paid.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
