Tom Aspinall’s teammate claims he was ‘robbed’ in first statement after controversial KO loss

Ante Delija takes issue with five aspects of his loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta

After beating his teammate at the UFC Apex, Waldo Cortes-Acosta called out Tom Aspinall.

It appeared that he had been stopped by Ante Delija in the first round after referee Mark Smith stepped in to cause a pause in the action.

During the replays, it became clear that Cortes-Acosta had been poked in the eye, but he was able to continue after taking several minutes to recover.

The Croatian’s opponent was then able to immediately capitalize once the fight restarted, landing a huge right hand that dropped Delija before several follow-up strikes ended the bout.

Tom Aspinall’s teammate has now protested the way that the fight ended in his first statement on social media following UFC Vegas 110.

In an Instagram story, Delija listed five aspects of the fight that he doesn’t agree with.

“1. I’m not sure if I hit him in the eye, I think it’s near the eye and of course I want a video where you can see that stab! 2. The referee did not show ‘time-out’, but stopped the fight and therefore declared me the winner. That decision cannot be changed later!

“3. The opponent sat and relaxed while watching the footage! 4. Replay used after the interruption – which rules do not allow!! 5. After all, the fight continued irregularly!

“I ask for nothing more, just honesty. I don’t run from defeat, I respect every opponent and every outcome. But not when rules are broken and I’m robbed. Not in this way. The sport hasn’t seen this yet!!!”

Ante Delija’s comments come back to haunt him

In the lead up to his fight at the Apex on Saturday night, Ante Delija defended his teammate Tom Aspinall.

The Croatian was in favor of penalizing eye pokes more significantly after what took place at UFC 321.

That being said, the bizarre scenes at UFC Vegas 110 did make things very confusing.

It certainly seemed like Delija had produced the first round finish before it was decided that the fight would continue.