Controversy Report: UFC 316

UFC 316: Controversy Report

Merab Dvalishvili left no doubts this time around, giving the judges an early night exit following his dominant display over former champ and foe, Sean O’Malley. Overall, this capped a night full of controlled judging and officiating. Moreover, we got to see proactive referring in the co-main event. While almost perfect, we must highlight the one controversial score-card. We will also go over who should be next for Patchy Mix, after a less than desirable UFC Debut. 

Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Serghei Spivac

• (27-30) (29-28) (29-28) 

While the event as a whole was quite free of controversy, this fight on the prelims surely caused some waves on the internet. The fight was undeniably close, with most fans and pundits understanding that at the end, they weren’t quite confident on who the victor was. 

Round 1 saw Serghei Spivac immediately notice that his takedowns wouldn’t be as impactful. Waldo Cortes-Acosta outstruck Spivac 27 to 14. An argument could be made that the shots landed by Spivac were more impactful, with one seeing Cortes-Acosta visibly hurt from. Moreover, there was 1:36 of control time for Spivac with only one of three takedowns being landed. All three referees awarded this round for the Dominican. I was quite surprised by this as this was one of the better rounds for Spivac, landing the heavier shot, landing the takedown, and overall causing more damage, though volume was prioritized. I personally would had awarded that to the Polar Bear, as he did in fact land less though landed more meaningful shots. 

As we head into Round 2, Acosta increases the tempo, lands 36 shots to Spivac’s 18, primarily to the body, and to an extent, doing more damage with more volume. This time around Spivac didn’t land as many shots that were impactful, that could possibly justify swaying the rounds in his favor. For that reason, a solid round for Cortes-Acosta. No mistake from judges on this one, and no debate. 

Round 3 was where we had deviation from the three judges. While Judge Querido and Judge Bilyk awarded the Polar Bear with a 10-9, Judge Anthony Tamburrino awarded a 10-9 for Cortes-Acosta. While yes, we did see Acosta outland Spivac 47-16, we did see Spivac land again, the more meaningful shots, that garnered a larger reaction, that in the judges eyes should insinuate more damage and a higher risk of a finish. Frankly, I didn’t understand Judge Tamburrino’s mindset in this round. 

A 29-28 either way was just and fair, though a 30-27 is in fact quite alarming. Moreover, if we look at volume, Spivac landed 12% more to the head, which is in fact where most damage is caused, leading to impactful strikes. This is why we’ve seen Acosta in some less than ideal positions throughout the fight. 

Patchy Mix gets a ROUGH welcome into the UFC

MMA Hardcores were salivating at the opportunity to see Patchy Mix in the UFC Venum Kit. After years of brilliance under the Bellator banner, Mix made his debut into the big show. Many praised Mix for his attributes, with some claiming him as a better fighter than Sean O’Malley, Umar Nurmagomedov and even Merab Dvalishvili. After Saturday night, you can confidently say their perspective changed. 

Mario Bautista, a former sworn enemy from MMA fans, outlanded Mix 173 to 122. Through 3 rounds, Mix landed not one takedown, attempted only three and seemed frozen. The striking defense rate was at an abysmal 42%.  Bautista would land everything he wanted at any time, especially in the first two rounds. 

Mix, a submission artist, failed to take this fight to the ground at any moment, resulting in multiple 30-27 wipe-outs for the UFC Veteran.  Many wondered what the cause was. Is Mario Bautista underrated? Was Patchy Mix not ready for the Top 10 of the Bantamweight Division? Was this a case of the Octagon Jitters? All in all, Mix was quite confident in the build up, underestimating Bautista as a “journeyman”, admitting he was looking past him. He went as far as to claim he was the best bantamweight on stage during a press conference with champions Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. 

If we look at recent Bellator debutants, we have MVP, who dominated Kevin Holland and is now 2-1 in the UFC. A couple of months ago, we saw Yair Rodriguez dominate Pitbull, a former Bellator Champion, albeit far from his prime. He is now fighting Dan Ige, ranked 14 in the world, next month at UFC 318. 

Differently, however Pitbull made his debut already in the Top 5 of the rankings. Bautista, being 10, would require us to start exploring the unranked levels of bantamweight. A name that could be interesting is Davey Grant. While skilled, he’s up there in age. Cody Garbrandt is a fun fight as well. Both him and Mix share the “No Love” nickname. Many suggested a young prospect in Payton Talbott, though I find it hard having that fight, seeing it would require losing a potential contender, and both men are marketable for the organization. 

Most importantly, Mix needs to get back in there as soon as possible. This was a relatively short notice bout, though his statements before the fight, paired with his record, led many fans to believe in dominance. Mix spent more than a year waiting for a fight, though not for his fault, but for contract disputes with the former organization. 

Surely, the UFC will look to build him up, and I’d bet on at least a better performance this second time around. Having Mix fight in the Apex could perhaps alleviate some of the pressure and allow him to have his first UFC win, without as many eyes. 

Pena’s Point Deduction

Unfortunately, a lot of our highlights are negative, however on a positive note, why not talk about referee Vitor Ribeiro? While quite the short fight between Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison, there was still time for some commotion before the second round finish. 

In the first round, Harrison lands a takedown and is attempting to advance position. While attempting such, Pena lands a kick, while Harrison is considered a grounded opponent. This front kick would be fully legal if Harrison were on her way in, and not grounded, however that wasn’t the case. Promptly, Ribeiro interrupted the fight, took a point away and resumed combat. 

Personally, this should be an example to be repeated. If an infraction is caused, especially one that could in fact cause damage, immediately take the point away. Conclusively, it was a good way to highlight the positives of a great return to Newark!

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