Merab Dvalishvili Leads UFC Perth Fans’ Rally to Fire Ref After Neil Magny Nearly Gets Submitted in Comeback Win

The welterweight division’s gatekeeper, Neil Magny, found himself in a rather unusual situation at UFC Perth in his fight against Jake Matthews. Although he went on to win the fight, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ seemed like he was done and out in the first round when he got trapped in a guillotine choke. The referee, Jim Perdios, called off the fight in the first round, with just a second to go for the round to end. However, that wasn’t the official end of the fight.

Jake Matthews would start celebrating after the referee stopped the fight, but the fight proceeded to the next round. This led to Neil Magny making a strong comeback and tapping the Australian fighter out to record a submission win in the third round. This referee error has caused a massive uproar in the MMA community, with bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili expressing his displeasure with the referee. “Another mistake by referee, but thank God Fight still on,” ‘The Machine’ wrote on X.

On the other hand, there were calls for the UFC to get rid of Jim Perdios, with tweets like, “Fire ref immediately.” Well, the referee may have made an error in judgment, but fans believe the belt saved him from further embarrassment. “The ref saving his own a–….lucky b—–d because the round was over. He stopped it at 0:01. He got lucky,” wrote a fan.

Another mistake by referee, but thank God Fight still on

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 28, 2025

Well, what do you make of the referee error in the Neil Magny vs Jake Matthews fight? Drop your comments below.

(This is a developing story)

The post Merab Dvalishvili Leads UFC Perth Fans’ Rally to Fire Ref After Neil Magny Nearly Gets Submitted in Comeback Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.