Chas Skelly Addresses Controversial Stoppage at UFC Fight Night 139

Speaking to reporters in a post-fight media scrum (via MMAjunkie) after his bout at UFC Fight Night 139, Chas Skelly addressed his controversial TKO loss against Bobby Moffet. Moffet had Skelly in a D’Arce Choke, and the referee stopped the fight. However, Skelly didn’t tap out or submit. He also did not appear to be unconscious. Below are some highlights from the scrum:

Skelly on the choke: “It was tight when my arm was across,” Skelly explained. “I been there a million times. Anybody who rolls (with me) can tell you. I roll to my back there. He would’ve had to have laced my leg in order to submit me there. When I rolled to my back, I extended my arm here … that created space, and I relaxed. All I did was relax. I was waiting for him to try to pull his legs toward my legs; I would’ve tensed up and walked right back out. When the ref came in and pulled us off, I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘You were out.’ I said, ‘I wasn’t out.’ Regardless, I made my case, they watched replay, and they said what they said. I don’t want to take anything away from Bobby.”

Chas Skelly on how the referee handled it: “(The referee) said that he saw my eyes flutter, is what he said. I don’t need to watch the replay. I said, ‘There’s no (expletive) way my my eyes fluttered because I wasn’t in any way, shape or form out.”

Chas Skelly on what the referee told him after the fight: “The ref was like, ‘Uh, I’m sorry. I thought you were out.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you should be (expletive) sorry.’ That’s half my check. This isn’t something where I come in, and I fight, and I make my whole check regardless of what happens. If he (expletives) up, I lose half my check. That’s money for my family. That’s money for me. You know, these fight camps are expensive. Now I got to go through a whole other (expletive) fight camp, and I basically just barely paid for this one.”

Chas Skelly on wanting a rematch: “I would love to run this fight back more than anything, but he’s a young guy, and he’s got a young career. And if I’m in his shoes, I’d say, ‘I’m moving on, bro.’ I mean, I’m not gonna go and rematch somebody … I would think that if they called it a no-contest he would want to. If they don’t call it a no-contest, I don’t think he would want to, and I don’t blame him. But do I want to? Absolutely, yeah. I mean, ‘c’mon.”