The UFC officials needed a re-do for this one.
Almost a decade after making his professional MMA debut, heavyweight Tyrell Fortune won his first UFC match — but cage announcer Bruce Buffer accidentally read off the scores for his opponent, Marcin Tybura.
After Buffer read off Tybura’s scores, Forture exited the Octagon and made his way toward the tunnel before UFC officials caught the mistake and summoned him back and announced him the winner.
“I was so upset with myself,” Fortune said following the match, according to ESPN. “I felt I didn’t do enough. I was just upset. With two weeks’ notice, I feel like I did a good job, but I also need to come with a better performance next time.”
Buffer apologized for the mix-up while declaring Fortune the winner after fans booed the initial verdict.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the mix-up,” Buffer said. “The scoring is 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 to the winner by unanimous decision, Tyrell Fortune.”
Fortune, a former Division II national champion wrestler, has had a long path to reach the point he is currently at in his career.
He had a near-death experience in 2012, where he was pronounced dead after suffering complications during a weight cut. Fortune eventually went on to make a full recovery.
“Man, that was an emotional drop and then a high again,” Fortune said of the mixup. “Once I was walking out of the Octagon I was just upset and frustrated with myself that I didn’t get the performance that I felt that I could.
“It was a little upsetting, feeling that I lost,” he added. “But them having to come back in and get the win and getting my hand raised made everything feel right.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
