UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov is not happy with the judging in his fight focusing on controversial judge Adalaide Byrd who has a long history of controversial judging in both MMA and boxing.
Alexander Volkov at UFC 310
At UFC 310, Alexander Volkov faced Ciryl Gane in a heavyweight rematch. The fight ended in a controversial split decision victory for Gane, which sparked immediate outrage from fans and Volkov himself. Many observers believed Volkov had done enough to win the fight, making the judges’ decision a source of significant debate.
After the fight, Volkov expressed his frustration with the decision, calling it “bulls–t” and stating that he was absolutely sure he had won the fight. He questioned the judges’ scoring and claimed he had done much more than Gane throughout the bout. Volkov even suggested that one of the judges, Adalaide Byrd, should be fired.
In the post-fight press conference, Alexander Volkov said:
“I don’t understand how a person not professionally trained in this sport can either not be required to judge the sport or just not be fired.
“It’s the same judge in boxing and MMA who absolutely doesn’t understand all of this? Like, I don’t know how it’s possible. This state is like a fighting capital of the world—a fighting capital of the world, for sure. You see it everywhere, in the whole world too.
“I don’t mean the entire commission. For sure, I know some professional guys work really well. But how is it possible that the same person can judge two completely different kinds of sports? They’re absolutely different.”
Adalaide Byrd
Boxing judge Adalaide Byrd has been at the center of several controversies in her career. One of the most notable incidents occurred during the 2017 middleweight championship bout between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. Byrd’s scorecard of 118-110 in favor of Alvarez was widely criticized and considered shockingly inaccurate.
This was not an isolated incident in Adalaide Byrd’s career. In 2016, she scored a fight between Jessie Magdaleno and Nonito Donaire 118-110 in Magdaleno’s favor, which was considered much wider than the other judges’ scores. In 2012, her 119-109 scorecard in favor of Austin Trout in his fight against Miguel Cotto also raised eyebrows.
Byrd’s controversial judging extends beyond boxing into mixed martial arts as well. In 2010, between Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan, she was the only judge to score the fight in Garcia’s favor. In the UFC, she is frequently a dissenting judge.
