Colorado commission overturns Chas Skelly’s controversial loss to Bobby Moffett, fight is no-contest

It took nearly two years, but Chas Skelly finally got a loss erased from his record.

On Wednesday, Skelly revealed that his 2018 fight against Bobby Moffett had been overturned to a no contest by the Colorado Office of Combative Sports and Colorado Combative Sports Commission.

The controversy surrounding the fight stemmed from a Brabo choke applied by Moffett in the second round. Referee Tim Mills called a stop to the contest despite Skelly never tapping out or going unconscious from the submission.

A replay was viewed after the stoppage, but the call was upheld and Moffett was declared the winner by TKO. Skelly disputed the result as he explained what happened after he got caught in the choke.

“I extended my arm – that created space and I relaxed,” Skelly explained. “I would have tensed up and walked back out. I made my case. They said what they said. I don’t want to take anything away from Bobby.”

Afterward, Skelly and his team filed an appeal with the Colorado commission to have the official result reviewed. The commission then informed the fighter of its decision via mail.

“In reviewing the bout video in its entirety, as well as the video submitted by you, I have concluded that the mechanics of the referee helped in creating an untimely stoppage of the fight, which resulted in an incorrect decision being rendered in this bout,” wrote Tony Cummings, director of the Colorado Office of Combative Sports director.

“While I find no malice in the referee’s actions in this situation, it is my opinion that the view of the fight ending sequence showed that a proper defense was being employed and that as such, the sequence should have been allowed to play itself out. There was no indication that the submission attempt resulted in you verbally submitting or being rendered unconscious.”

Ultimately, the commission has opted to overturn the results to a no-contest.

“Because there was no indication of a verbal or physical submission, nor any indication you were rendered unconscious, and that the referee’s mechanics contributed to the untimely stoppage of the bout, this bout will be overturned to a ‘no contest,” Cummings wrote. “The results of this appeal will be sent to the appropriate record keeping data bases for recording.”

Skelly, who trains out of Sanford MMA in Florida, hasn’t fought since 2019 when he picked up a unanimous decision win over Jordan Griffin. He was originally scheduled to return in February, but an injury took him out of a fight against Grant Dawson.

As for Moffett, he dropped back-to-back fights after facing Skelly, and he was subsequently released from the UFC.