There were high stakes in the final fight of the night at UFC on ESPN 43, where top ranked bantamweights Cory Sandhagen (no. 5) and Marlon Vera (no. 3) went to battle in the five round main event of the evening. Some fighters have reacted to the decision, including former two-division champion Conor McGregor.
After five rounds were completed, Sandhagen was awarded the split decision victory (47-48, 50-45, 49-46); it was quite controversial to say the least.
Sandhagen dominantly won the first and second rounds, and it’s arguable one of them could’ve been scored 10-8 for him; the third was close, it could’ve gone either way, and then Sandhagen clearly took the fourth and fifth rounds as well. The second and third scorecards read were telling of how the fight went, but that 48-47 scorecard from the first judge had all of us turning our heads.
There were a number of fellow fighters that were very impressed with Sandhagen’s performance last night:
In the middle of the fight, there were some that believed Vera was about to put it on Sandhagen, which was at the time a good assumption, considering he’s one of the best in the entire sport at making mid-fight adjustments:
Then we of course have the fighters that were absolutely appalled by the first scorecard:
48-47 Vera??? I love Chito as well but damn what was that judge watching smh
#UFCSanAntonio
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) March 26, 2023
I want to see the judge who gave chito
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) March 26, 2023
These judges make me sick
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) March 26, 2023
. That was a 5 round beating! You owe me a Steak dinner
The Notorious’ Conor McGregor also gave his two cents regarding what happened following round four of the main event, a tweet he later deleted:
“One gollier of a spit and two snot rockets each nostril just now from both fighters at end of the 4th. It’s a ridiculous habit some people have. It should be abolished via threat of point deduction,” Conor McGregor tweeted.
Did you notice what Conor McGregor noticed in last nights main event?
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