Controversy Report: UFC London

UFC London Controversy Report

The UFC’s return to London was riddled with questionable decisions, and luckily I was at the event live, so this will be the first time I will be comparing my perspective from a live event to scoring it from home.

Some of these fights were clearly close, so the judging not being completely perfect is understandable. But overall, the card was a stinker and London deserved better.

Caolan Loughran defeats Nathan Fletcher

• Split Decision (28-29,29-28,28-29)

For preface, I was watching this fight with a group of Irish fans that were clearly on the side of the Don, Caolan Loughran. His opponent, Nathan Fletcher had the support of home fans, so clearly we witnessed opposing reactions, be it from failed or defended takedowns. 

Round 1 was quite easy to score, with all three judges agreeing unanimously that the Irishman had won. Striking numbers are quite similar, with Fletcher landing three more than Loughran, though neither were damaging. The difference maker was found on the 3 takedowns landed by the Don, who had 2 minutes of control time. 

Similarly enough, Round 2 was an easy one to score. Fletcher outlanded Loughran by 17 strikes, landed one takedown, and had control for 3:30, spending a bulk of the round on the back of Loughran, threatening to take the neck, and in a dominating position. Once more, no issue scoring this round. 

Round 3 is where it gets a tad more complicated. When we look at statistics, Fletcher outlanded Loughran 24 to 15, at a 66% accuracy compared to The Don’s 44%. Loughran did in fact land three takedowns, with 3 minutes of control, where not much happened. When we look at a damage based scoring, Fletcher ended this round in a great fashion, landing elbows and hard damaging punches towards Loughran. 

The question we ask here is, did the three minutes of control time compensate for the damaging shots? Of course it is subjective, but personally I didn’t think so. Before the fight announcement, we had local fans determined Fletcher won, whereas the Irish group celebrated before the announcement even got read out. 

Marcin Tybura defeats Mick Parkin

• Unanimous Decision (29-28,29-28,29-28)

In all honesty, this controversial decision could be smelled from miles away. Evidently, all fans were on their feet and clapping once Big Mick Parkin made his walk as a fresh, undefeated prospect in the heavyweight division. If you had catched a GLIMPSE of Marcin Tybura’s last fight against Diniz, he wasn’t afraid of taking an undefeated fighter’s “0”. 

All three rounds were unanimously scored, however truly only Round 2 was the easy round to score. Breaking it down, Round 1 saw similar strike numbers, differentiated by one sole strike. Parkin landed 13 to the head, when compared to Tybura’s 4 to the head. Parkin’s accuracy was at 50% when you compared it to the Veteran’s 37%. The differential here was the takedown, though it had minimal effect for Tybura and both men managed to have identical control time of 19 seconds. 

Round 2, as mentioned, was the easiest round to score. In terms of strikes, Parkin landed 15 strikes compared to Tybura’s 7, while at the same time having over 3 minutes of control time. Parkin got close to a finish with some amazing ground and pound, but unfortunately failed to do so. This meant we would head to the third round, and most likely have the judges decide. 

At this point, both men were quite fatigued. Tybura landed 33 strikes compared to Parkin’s 22 this round. The output was superior, though the strikes to the head were quite similar. Since the damage was similar, the round could be awarded for Tybura. 

With two clear rounds a piece, Round 1 remains the swing round, and based on damage, I would award it to the then undefeated fighter. What could have been the differential was the late takedown landed, though there was no damage and barely no control time arriving from it. It was a close round, though what truly surprised me was that no judge awarded this first round to Mick. 

Lone’er Kavanagh defeats Felipe Dos Santos

• Unanimous Decision (28-29,28-29,28-29) 

This fight was one of the best positive highlights for the future of British MMA and of the Flyweight Division, and actually a positive representation on how close fights aren’t necessarily robberies. This fight was competitive but the rounds were clear, which makes my job here a bit easier. 

Round 1 was a Unanimous victory on all three score-cards for Felipe dos Santos. The Brazilian was quite aggressive, landing 4 more significant strikes, more damaging shots, and keeping this fight on the feet, which was what he wanted. The shots landed were truly effective, some leaving Lone’er Kavanagh cut. At this point, it seemed Lone’er Kavanagh needed a turn-around and this is what happened. 

Kavanagh’s second round saw him outstrike by 4 strikes, while landing 2 takedowns and having over 3 minutes of control time. No issues on this round, all though Dos Santos still had his moments. Round 3 was much more the same, with Kavanagh landing 7 more significant strikes, this time at a 78% significant strike rate, and once more landing two takedowns, with over 2 total minutes of control time. 

While Dos Santos won Round 1 and had his moments, this fight was one of the few perfectly scored fights of the night, because even the main event. that ended in a finish, has some issues with scoring that we will soon address. 

Chris Padilla defeats Jai Herbert

• Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29)

If there are any bright spots in terms of judging in this card, it’s that it put a halt in the claim home fighters get an advantage in scoring because this was yet another example of a British fighter losing a close contest. 

From the start of Round 1 it was clear that Chris Padilla’s strategy was to grapple, and to his credit he did try to achieve some success within this realm. Padilla failed the takedown in this first round, but spent a significant time clinching and studying Jai Herbert. He out-landed Jai Herbert by 6 strikes and had 50 seconds of control time and won a unanimous, dull round, on all three score-cards. 

The round that had the most controversy was Round 2. When it comes to statistics, Padilla once more outlanded Herbert by 6 strikes, he attempted three takedowns, and had 1:34 of control, despite landing no takedowns. The only positive aspect of this round was the cut from Herbert’s side on Padilla. We then should ask ourselves if that cut is enough to win the round. Seen the control wasn’t significant, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving this to Herbert, however, Padilla winning shouldn’t be necessarily a surprise. 

Round 3 was once more a clear round, though this time for Herbert. He outlanded the American by 11 strikes , and only suffered one minute of control time. The Brit almost seemingly fought with more urgency here, perhaps comprehending he was down on the cards. 

Regardless, it was a close fight with very little volume on both ends, and glimpses of control and grappling, with 7 takedowns attempted on both ends and 0 of them landed, with less than 80 total strikes landed in combination. This would be one of the few cases where draws should be more accepted. Due to the current way MMA is judged, however, this was quite the toss up bout. 

Carlos Ulberg Defeats Jan Blachowicz

• Unanimous Decision (28-29,28-29,28-29) 

As the Polish Fans to my left lost their voices in this fight and waited in anticipation for their champion to have his hand raised, I braced myself for what could possibly be another close decision for Jan Blachowicz, who recently has had close bouts not go his way against the division’s elite. Breaking down each round, it was hard to determine clear rounds, as they were all quite close. Despite that, there are always some slight details we can highlight. 

Round 1 was a controversial round, with Judge Cartlidge and Paolillo awarding it for Jan whereas Judge Lethaby had it as a 10-9 for Carlos Ulberg. Statistically speaking, Jan landed more strikes and was more accurate, when compared to Blackjag. He also landed the stronger and more meaningful strikes. I don’t understand how Judge Lethaby awarded this round for Ulberg. While it was a close round, the numbers were slightly skewed for the 42 year old, the more damaging shots as well, as well as the cage control and forward pressure. 

When speaking about Round 2, all three judges unanimously agreed on the Ulberg 10-9. He landed well with inside low-kicks while finding a home for his right hand. While Jan kept the aggression, his volume wasn’t near as high as Ulberg’s, as Ulberg landed 29 strikes when compared to Blachowicz’s 16. The striking efficiency was once more similar as both landed at a 48% significant strike rate. 

Round 3 saw David Lethaby deviate from Judges Cartlidge and Paolillo once more. In this case, Lethaby was the sole one to score for Ulberg, whereas the two other judges scored it for the Polish fighter. When it comes to statistics, Ulberg landed 6 more strikes as well at a 47% efficiency, when compared to Jan’s 37%. Jan seemingly landed the heavier punches with bigger reactions, more so towards the end of the round and the fight. Based on a damage based scoring, Jan’s volume did slightly enough to edge him this round, though awarding it for Ulberg really isn’t problematic. 

In my eyes Jan’s rounds were the first and third, however I completely see how Ulberg’s scoring could make sense. At the end of the day, the speed of Jan didn’t allow him to be as effective as he once would be. Conspiracies now begin with many believing Judges gave the benefit of the doubt to the younger fighter, but in reality, it was a close fight that came down to minute details in terms of judging. 

Sean Brady defeats Leon Edwards

• Round 4 Guillotine Choke 

While nothing controversial impacted this fight, one thing that was curious and at least worthy of debate is how all three judges had every single round as a 10-9, without a singular 10-8 round being awarded. This is once more another case of judges being a bit more hesitant towards the 10-8 for reasons that are still unclear. 

Outside of a competitive Round 1, there were no moments for Leon Edwards. Round 2 for example, saw Leon land a total of 0 strikes, getting taken down twice in the round and controlled for all but 3 seconds of a round. If you’re controlled for all but 3 seconds of a round, while the opposing fighter threatens a submission and lands ground and pound, why is it not a 10-8 round? The fighter arguably has no position to defend himself and is dominated from bell to bell. 

Similarly, Round 3 saw Leon only land three significant strikes, while once again giving up 4 total minutes of control time. Sean Brady landed further with the ground and pound, and even the crowd grew concerned of a potential finish. With two more rounds on the horizon, a finish wasn’t completely out of the table. A 10-8 round here was even more justified because of the shots on the ground, and again, a near entire round with a dominant wrestler advancing position, while implementing damage. 

In the end, Brady’s submission sealed the deal, but it still remains an interesting point of interest. Regardless, the UFC now sets its eyes to UFC Mexico City where surely, there will be some controversial points to cover. 

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