Controversy Report: UFC Baku

Controversy Report: UFC Baku

Heading into Baku, a lot was speculated on what we’d witness in one of the places with the most corruption in combat sports history. While the event ended with a lukewarm main-event, with half the crowd making the exit following the co-main, we do have some controversy to go over. Seemingly, the illegal strikes remain a topic of discussion this week. 

Jun Yong Park defeats Ismael Naurdiev

• Unanimous Decision (29-26 x2, 29-25)

Baku’s prelims were highlighted by 6 Decisions, though that doesn’t tell the entire story. This bout between Jun Yong Park and Ismael Naurdiev, highlighted why some fighters are different from others. In what was looking like a normal Iron Turtle fight, with a decent amount of back and forth, quickly took a bad turn in Round 2, when Naurdiev landed an illegal knee to a grounded opponent in Park, who was in fact fully grounded. 

Instantly, referee Lucas Bosacki stops the fight and we can notice some intense swelling on Park’s left eye, heavy blood flow, and the eye test from back home, led us to believe we wouldn’t see this fight extend further. All this happens while Naurdiev celebrates a fraudulent victory sitting on top the cage. A disqualification was surely in our heads and we braced for what the doctor would say. Nonchalantly, the doctor walks in and casually determines the Iron Turtle, with an emphasis on IRON, is able to continue. 

Here’s what’s interesting: if the doctor says the fighter is given the Thumbs Up to continue, who is to correct him? In most cases, we complain about acting, like we did with Bellato, however in this case, it was a horrible knee with visible damage. If Park would choose not to continue, people wouldn’t be surprised or upset at him. An interesting element is that Park had momentum in that fight, so obviously he wished for this fight to continue. 

Because of the infraction, referee Lucas Bosacki decides to take two points away from Naurdiev. It was either this, or a DQ and in my humble opinion, two points was a bargain. This is similar to what happened when Jon Jones landed an illegal knee on Anthony Smith, and Smith chose to proceed with the fight. Oddly, judges still gave the round to Naurdiev, making it a 8-9 round for Park. It is important to point that out since this odd judging was overlooked by the illegal knee from Naurdiev. 

This horror story ended well, however, with Park winning by Decision. This was a huge risk however, as he was quite compromised and Naurdiev had an entire round and a half to exploit Park in a difficult position. 

Concluding this fiasco, I do believe that referee Lucas Bosacki executed perfectly. He gave the time for the doctor to examine the fighter’s condition, he took the two points away and stopped the fight immediately after the incident. My criticism, other than to Naurdiev of course, would be towards the physician. Obviously, I’m not a doctor or a health expert, but you need to believe that 80% of physicians would have stopped that fight, leading to a DQ. Hopefully Park gets his recognition from the organization in the future. 

Curtis Blaydes defeats Rizvan Kuniev

• Split Decision (29-28 x3)

While not even remotely close to the controversy witnessed in the fight between Park and Naurdiev, the bout between Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev was a close one when we’re talking about scoring. The anticipation for this one was decent. Kuniev, a newcomer into the UFC with a colorful past, would get the opportunity at a top-ranked heavyweight. Despite the loss, I do believe he proved to belong inside the Top 10. 

Now, looking at this fight on a round per round basis, Round 1 was the easiest one to score. Blaydes was aggressive with the takedown entries, landing 2 out of 9 attempts. He managed to have a total of three minutes of control time, outstruck Kuniev 12 to 8 and landed at a 52% accuracy, compared to the 36% from the Russian. No debates, an easy scoring round. 

When looking at Round 2, again, it was quite easy to score. Kuniev was primarily responsible for the damage here. 24 strikes landed against the 16 from Blaydes. Blaydes also failed 4 takedowns, perhaps due to an MCL injury he believed occurred in Round 1. An important detail about this round is that Kuniev was able to do almost all damage inside this round. Out of all three rounds, this was the round that hurt Blaydes the most, that left the most visible bruising and blood in Blaydes’ face. Despite all that, we know fights are scored individually by Round and 10-9’s are always equal in a mathematical equation. 

Round 3 was perhaps the most controversial round. Blaydes outlanded Kuniev by 15 strikes, 28 to 13, while landing at a 84% strike rate. He did all this, while accumulating 2 minutes of control against the clinch. Kuniev did in fact land great shots, but at a 34% efficiency rate, it wasn’t nearly as effective or voluminous as what Blaydes did in this round. Ultimately, it all comes down to Round 2 and people believing that because of Kuniev’s success that round, it should lead to him winning the fight. Until the day we have a 10-9 scoring system, all rounds are considered separately and equally. Regardless, it was a close fight, and I do believe that Curtis Blaydes did in fact, do enough to get his hand raised. 

We now move into the last card of June in what promises to be an electrifying International Fight Week!

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