UFC San Antonio just came to a close with two masterful performances from the winners of the main and the co-main event of the night. In the main event, Cory Sandhagen locked horns with rising star Marlon Vera in what would push the winner a bit more toward the bantamweight title. However, fans are buzzing about a bizarre scorecard from one of the judges scoring the last bout of the card.
Fight fans expected a stand-and-trade battle between two of the best strikers in the division. But, to fans’ surprise, Cory dominated for almost the entirety of the bout. Cory showcased his striking improvement and also mixed up better combinations while leaving no room for Vera to find his angles. The 30-year-old showed off a drastic level-up in his wrestling prowess by initiating and securing takedowns as well.
Put in 25 minutes of work! 😤
The #UFCSanAntonio main event goes to @CorySandhagen!!!! pic.twitter.com/xUzrDUcQDK
— UFC (@ufc) March 26, 2023
Chris Lee, Sal D’Amato, and Joel Odeja were in charge of scoring the highly anticipated bantamweight bout among two hungry contenders. However, Odeja scored the contest 48-47 for the Ecuadorian, and the fans were left in shock. Despite such a one-sided beatdown and a visibly clear victory, supporters and fighters alike are surprised to see the miscalculation on a stage this grand.
UFC fights with Joel Ojeda as the judge
Cory dominated ‘Chito‘ Vera in every aspect of the bout while snapping the Ecuadorian’s 4-fight winning streak. Joel Odeja has just provided one of the worst scorecards in recent memory of a live UFC event, let alone in the history of the promotion. However, this isn’t the first time a judge has denied a UFC athlete of a lopsided victory. The promotion has had its fair share of controversies around their judges’ duties and the corresponding results.
#UFCSanAntonio Official Scorecard: Cory Sandhagen (@CorySandhagen) vs Marlon Vera 👇
All Tonight’s Scorecards ➡️: https://t.co/2LvSldQ8gr pic.twitter.com/NhrfCwjfZM
— UFC News (@UFCNews) March 26, 2023
It is noteworthy that this contest was only the second fight where Ojeda sat in a judge’s seat. Prior to this, Ojeda scored the last fight on the preliminary card for tonight’s event. It was a featherweight bout between Steven Peterson and Lucas Anderson, with the latter winning the bout via unanimous decision. Before taking on the role of a judge for the first time tonight, Joel has a record of being a referee, mostly working for Fury FC and Invicta FC.
Fans react to the judge who scored the win for Marlon Vera
Fans didn’t take long to react to the atrocious scorecard insinuating a Marlon Vera win. It is worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time where a judge has scored a contest for a visibly-losing fighter. However, tonight’s scoring could go down as one of the worst and most irresponsible in recent UFC history. Fans and fighters have expressed bitter taste toward’s the aforementioned judge.
That judge that scored it for Vera needs to be drug tested
— depressedbearsfan (@pressedbearsfan) March 26, 2023
Check the betting history of the judge who scored that 48-47
— Robertson (@OddRobby) March 26, 2023
Split decision!?! Fire that judge immediately
— GiannisPloutarhos (@Marwanhamdoun45) March 26, 2023
Scoring the last three rounds for Chito means he was probs on his phone or something, wild scoring
— Gio (@giotorra) March 26, 2023
Split decision is criminal
— Hugh Sherwood 🇦🇺 (@HughSherwood1) March 26, 2023
Whoever had Chito winning should be thrown in jail
— Jokic Stan Account (@jokicdenverstan) March 26, 2023
With the rising numbers of controversial scorecards and resulting “robberies”, the MMA community is voicing for a better judging model. What do you think about the recent controversy around tonight’s judge’s scorecard? Do you agree with the numbers? Let us know in the comments down below.
