Last Saturday night Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren faced Marcos Galvao in a non-title 137 lb catchweight bout in the headliner for Bellator 41.
After three rounds of a very close fight, which had many scoring the second round for Galvao, the judges awarded Warren with the unanimous decision scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28. It was the 30-27 score that sent many critics and fans screaming highway robbery.
That particular score was awarded by Judge Chuck Wolfe, who spoke to MMAFighting.com recently defending his decision to award Warren all three rounds.
“It could be one takedown different, it could be one punch different, it could be one kick different, it could be one attempted submission different … ”
“Did he damage Warren in that fight? Yeah, he did, for a short period of time. I remember the bout very clearly. When they are close rounds there’s one thing or maybe two things that might put someone ahead. … You can grade it 10-10 but you might as well not be there if you’re not going to score someone to win the round … ”
“He had three rounds to take Warren out if he really wanted to beat him — he had three rounds to dominate Warren, as well as Warren had three rounds to dominate him. It’s up to the fighter. … Don’t leave it in the hands of the judges, especially when it’s a close fight.”