It was a back-and-forth war for five rounds in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston, Mass. last night (Sun. Jan. 17, 2016) as UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and former champion Dominick Cruz gave their all in the quest for glory.
At the end of the fight, Cruz was awarded a split decision by scores of 48-47 and 49-46, while one judge scored it 49-46 for Dillashaw.
The official scorecard showed that judges disagreed on every round except for the second, which they handed to the challenger. See below:
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Two judges gave the first, fourth and fifth rounds to Dillashaw, while two judges gave the third to Cruz.
Here’s the round-by-round breakdown:
Round 1: 10-9 Dillashaw by split decision
Round 2: 19-19 by majority draw
Round 3: 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 Cruz by split decision
Round 4: 39-37 (x2), 37-39 Cruz by split decision
Round 5: 49-46, 48-47, 46-48 Cruz by split decision
Looking at it this way, Cruz had already won the fight heading in the fifth round since Dave Ginsberg had given him the first three and Tony Weeks had given him rounds two through four.
Among MMA media, 12 scored it Cruz, 10 saw it for Dillashaw and one scored a draw.
No matter how you score it, that was a close fight!
Would you be interested in seeing that one again? Sound off in the comments!
For complete results of the UFC Fight Night 81 card, including post-fight recaps and analysis, click here.