Gleison Tibau on controversial UFC Fight Night 77 stoppage: Abel Trujillo didn't tap out

SAO PAULO – Gleison Tibau concedes that Abel Trujillo never tapped out in their lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 77, but he said he’s still the rightful victor.

“The position (was) very strong, you know?” Tibau told MMAjunkie. I don’t know. The guy don’t tap out. I (just) see the referee say, ‘Stop. Stop.'”

Tibau (34-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) landed an early takedown on Trujillo (12-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and before long had advanced position to take the back. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt wrapped his arm around the neck to apply a rear-naked choke, and as Trujillo worked to escape, referee Keith Peterson stepped in and halted the bout.

Trujillo objected the call the moment the stoppage occurred, but the result was already made. Tibau admits he never felt “Killa” submit, but he simply followed the referee’s instructions to stop and anything beyond that is out of his control.

“I didn’t feel him touch,” Tibau said. “Only the referee say, ‘Stop.'”

The controversial ending wasn’t the first time in recent memory that a fight has been stopped with an actual submission. Leandro Silva earned a similar victory over Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 62 earlier this year, and upon review, the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) overturned the result to a no-contest.

Despite the past precedent, however, Tibau said he doesn’t expect the outcome to change.

“No. I don’t think so,” Tibau said. “The position very hard. 10 seconds more and the guy is sleep.”

What the future holds remains to be seen, but as of now Tibau has another UFC win, which marked his 17th inside the octagon. He’s now tied with Michael Bisping for the third most victories in UFC history behind Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes, which Tibau said is an accomplishment he’s very pleased with.

“I’m so happy,” Tibau said. “This time in the UFC, it’s not easy. It’s hard.”

As well as his place near the top of the UFC’s all-time wins list, Tibau’s UFC Fight Night 77 appearance marked his 26th UFC bout, tied for second most ever behind former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.

Tibau will tie Ortiz’s record with just one more victory, and given the brief nature of his fight with Trujillo, he said he’ll be ready to take another fight and tie that record at any point in the near future.

“This fight is so fast, so I’m ready in one month, two months,” Tibau said. “Anytime. I’ll be back training and keep on training.”??For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 77, check out the UFC Evetnts section of the site.