Ketlen Vieira has just defeated Holly Holm in the UFC Vegas 55 main event. It was a back and forth brawl from the first-round onwards. Neither fighter took a step back during the bout and it made for a very entertaining contest between two elites in the Women’s bantamweight division.
But there is a lot of dispute online regarding the scoring of the fight. A lot of fans have come out in Holm’s support and have called the decision a blatant robbery. Are they right? Is there enough evidence to support the claims of a robbery? Let’s find out.
#UFCVegas55 Official Scorecards: Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira (@KetlenVieiraUFC)
— UFC News (@UFCNews) May 22, 2022
See every scorecard from #UFCVegas55 here ➡️: https://t.co/KGZKTNFMgT pic.twitter.com/6oxKqb4Duu
The judges had a very interesting scored card at the end of the fight. All three scored the contest 48-47. But two had it in favour of Ketlen Vieira, while one had it for Holly Holm. What was the reason behind such a score? Let’s get the definitive rounds out of the way first. All three judges scored the first and the last round for Holly Holm. They also scored the 2nd round for Vieira.
Was the judgement of Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira unfair?
So round 3 and 4 became the swing rounds. According to the official stats, in round 3, Ketlen Vieira had a significant advantage in terms of strikes that landed. She landed 23 significant strikes out of 37. Vieira also stuffed 2 of Holly Holm’s takedowns. Whereas, Holly only managed to land 13 out of 30 attempted strikes. But one judge had it for Holm, while two scored it for Vieira.
But things become muddy in the fourth round. Holly Holm landed 37 significant strikes out of an attempted 68 strikes with a more than 50% accuracy rate. Her tally was nearly double what Vieira landed in the fourth round. She only managed to land 23 strikes out of an attempted 51. Neither fighter attempted a takedown in that particular round. But interestingly, all three judges scored the round in favour of Ketlen Vieira.
Your winner by split decision – @KetlenVieiraUFC! #UFCVegas55 pic.twitter.com/8QuJJOxIX3
— UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2022
Overall, Holly Holm outstruck Ketlen Vieira. Holm landed 96 significant strikes out of an attempted 157. Vieira attempted 151 strikes and landed 86 of them. But she did manage to get 1 takedown under her belt. However, Vieira did not do any damage as Holly escaped right away.
But the stats do not tell the entire picture here. Ketlen Vieira landed fewer shots. But whenever she landed, her shots did visible damage to Holly Holm. Holm had a hard time dealing with Ketlen’s power as she seemed hurt multiple times during the contest.
There is an old saying that damage caused, wins the fight. Although the 40-year-old had a much higher output than Ketlen, she was never in a position to finish the bout. Whereas, Vieira had multiple opportunities to either knock Holly out or submit her. The biggest one came when she had Holly in a guillotine choke which was tight.
At the end of the day, the uproar from Holly Holm fans is understandable. No fan would want their favourite fighter to lose. But in this case, not only is this not a robbery, the result is the perfect outcome that the fight warranted.
Even Holly herself was disappointed with the result. Although she admitted that she could have been more active in the fight, Holly stated that won the fight. But who do you think won at UFC Vegas 55? Do you think the judges got it right? Let us know in the comments section below.
