Controversy Report: UFC Kansas City

UFC Kansas City: Controversy Report

It is an absolute blessing to have the UFC back on our screens. It is even better that we had a wonderful Kansas City Fight Night with LIMITED controversy. That doesn’t mean we don’t have a few fights to talk about, however it is always great when judging and refereeing don’t overshadow the performance of the athletes in the octagon. 

Here’s this week’s UFC controversy report:

Chris Gutierrez defeats John Castaneda

• Split Decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)

Chris Gutierrez  has a calculated and meticulous style based on range based striking. This was the case for this fight. The first round was unanimously awarded for Gutierrez. While contested, Gutierrez landed at a 56% striking rate and recorded a knockdown, which was in fact the most damaging blow of the entire round. 

The second round was where controversy struck, though slightly. John Castaneda’s accuracy improved to 53% while Gutierrez raised his accuracy to 58%. Regardless, El Guapo landed 6 more strikes on Castaneda, which got him the result on two score cards, though David Huyette edged it for Castaneda. In my opinion, it was a clear Gutierrez round, though nothing dominating or ultra damaging. 

The third and final round of the fight saw Castaneda land one takedown and have almost three minutes of control. The damage in this round was quite balanced, though the control time was farther on the side of Castaneda, leading to a unanimous 10-9. There is no debate on this round either. 

Ultimately, this was a fairly easy fight to score. Castaneda’s efforts in the third round came a little late into the fight. Guiterrez once more displayed perfect range management but perhaps a higher focus on output could help him avoid this situation in the future. 

David Onama defeats Giga Chikadze

• Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)

This one was a frustrating bout to watch from the outside. As we all know, the age old dilemma that damage trumps control, though fights in the UFC are scored by round. Regardless if a fighter dominated the first round, it doesn’t matter if he lost the last two, which was the case here. 

Round 1 was the only round given to Giga Chikadze . There was a visible speed advantage, paired with technique. He outstruck David Onama by 7 strikes and there was a visible discomfort on the feet by Onama. The round was unanimously agreed by judges and the MMA fans and viewers alike. 

Round 2 there wasn’t much debate either. After a few exchanges, Onama landed his sole takedown of the round and gathered 3 minutes of control time. Striking numbers were edged for Onama who landed 7 more strikes. Again, there wasn’t much damage being displayed on either end and Onama didn’t really wish to advance position. Ultimately, it was a correctly scored round. 

Round 3 was more of the same. Striking numbers were the exact same, though the takedown from Onama warranted him 2 minutes of control time. Again, Giga seemingly is the one wanting to engage, but Onama negated that possibility. If the damage numbers were somewhat swayed for Giga we could even debate the possibility of giving him that round, however that wasn’t the case. 

This fight was a frustrating watch because it was evident who was levels above on the feet and Onama isn’t traditionally a grappler, and while he rightfully won, it wasn’t an enjoyable performance at all as it seemed much more about survival than winning. 

Ian Machado Garry Welterweight Backup?

Ian Machado Garry said it and UFC President Dana White backed it, Machado Garry will be the official backup for the welterweight title bout happening next week. His performance in short notice against a fighter that hadn’t lost in 6 years in Carlos Prates with all the hype, out-striking him over the 5 rounds was impressive. 

Regardless, the Irish prospect is on a one fight win streak. His last fight was a valiant effort against Shavkat Rahkmonov, where the undefeated fighter lost his finishing streak, as Machado Garry had Shavkhat in trouble. The result saw Machado Garry’s stock rise and we wondered how his performance would be with a full camp. 

Ultimately, “The Future” has been vocal about his presence in these last short notice performances, and the UFC has been fond of his attitude, so much so they considered the Irishman’s presence as a backup fighter and not Sean Brady, who just finished Leon Edwards roughly a month ago. 

In my eyes, being vocal and having a presence and letting it be known of said presence is something the UFC appreciates A LOT. A young fighter like Ian is able to have that presence and influence, despite the recent loss to Shavkhat, who was seemingly next, only held back by an injury. 

Want to know more about each event? Visit homeoffight.com or any of our social media accounts for more articles, fighter interviews, and plenty of more coverage. Enjoy the fights, let us know how you’ll be watching!