CHICAGO – When Smealinho Rama wasn’t allowed to answer the bell for the third round, Brandon Halsey thought he was about to celebrate a five-point win at PFL 2.

Instead, when the official result was announced, Halsey’s TKO victory was ruled as ending one second into the third round instead of at the 5:00 mark of the second. That technicality, in the Professional Fighters League’s points-based regular-season system, meant Halsey got four points for a third-round finish instead of five for one in the second.

“I don’t understand that,” Halsey told MMAjunkie after the fight at Chicago Theatre in Chicago on Thursday. “He didn’t answer the bell in the third. I don’t know how they justify that one second into the third when you don’t answer the bell. I’m hoping they switch it. He didn’t answer it in the third round, so how are you going to call that third-round stoppage?

“If it’s any other fight, I’m not going to freaking complain. But it’s going to cost me a point, so I’m going to fight for every point I can get because it’s going to help me in the end and seeding me in the (playoffs).”

Halsey’s win came on the Facebook-streamed prelims for PFL’s second event. The main card aired on NBCSN. Halsey is part of the inaugural season’s light heavyweight field. He and 11 other fighters in the division have a pair of regular-season fights in which they’ll earn points to qualify for this fall’s playoffs. At the end, the winners in each of six divisions will take home $1 million each.

PFL President Ray Sefo and CEO Carlos Silva told MMAjunkie after the event that the time of the stoppage was purely a ruling of the Illinois State Athletic Commission, members of which told the two execs that’s how it’s done in the state. (A doctor’s stoppage TKO at UFC on FOX 2 in Chicago was listed as ending at 5:00 in the second, not 0:01 in the third, though it should be noted that was in early 2012.

Silva and Sefo said they won’t try to overrule the commission. Halsey wasn’t the only one affected by that kind of ruling. Rakim Cleveland got four points instead of five when Rashid Yusupov couldn’t answer the bell in the third round with a jaw injury.

But even with one point less than he believes he should have, Halsey was glad for the win in a back-and-forth fight against Rama. He was in trouble a few times in the fight, but rallied back and sliced Rama open in a big way. That led to the stoppage after two rounds.

“I knew what I had to do – I knew I had to implement pressure on him,” Halsey said. “It was a little bit of a slow start – I was feeling a little sluggish. But I knew my wrestling and positioning would overcome. I saw that opening, opened him up (with the cut) and went for the kill).

“I feel good. We’re going to build on this. I’m already in shape. I felt a little sluggish – it was a weight thing. So we’re going to bring it back down, make some adjustments and come back stronger. We’ve got a long season ahead, and we’re just going to climb from here.”

For more from Halsey, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of PFL 2, check out the MMA Events section of the site.