Not all split decisions end in controversy, and the women’s bantamweight meeting between Marion Reneau and Ashlee Evans-Smith on the FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” portion of the UFC Fight Night 83 card tonight (Sun., Feb. 21, 2016) was anything but controversial, however the judges viewing the contest inside CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA., certainly made it that way.
Reneau and Smith kept the fight standing for the duration of their tilt in “Steel City,” with the former showcasing much improved striking and footwork. Smith was mostly tentative — though she turned it up in the final frame — and had a difficult time fighting her way inside.
Most, like myself, were probably expecting a unanimous-decision, perhaps split-decision victory, in favor of “The Bruiser.” But boy were fight fans and pundits about to be amazed:
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Two of the three judges — Andrew Adkins and John Lapceric — awarded the returning Smith the win via split decision, which isn’t exactly the worst thing in the world. But, when you hand over an ill-advised 30-27 score to the victor, who clearly didn’t sweep all three rounds, you can definitely expect some scrutiny.
Worse still, the judges seemed to add up the third column wrong, awarding a 29-27 result when the scores clearly didn’t add up that way.
Smith is now the loser of two in a row, while Smith picks up her first UFC victory.
For continuous coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 83 card click here.