While there were plenty of options available for Robbery of the Year in 2023, the LowKick MMA staff largely landed on one especially egregious decision as its favorite. Or in this case, least favorite.
Earning five nominations and running away with the vote was the June 3 main event clash between former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France and streaking division standout Amir Albazi.
Robbery of the Year – Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France – UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi – (5 votes)
Amir Albazi scored the biggest win of his career, but in the eyes of many, including UFC CEO Dana White, it left a lot of unanswered questions.
Throughout their five-round affair, neither fighter could assert themselves for long stretches. However, Kara-France noticeably upped his urgency as time went on, delivering a strong finish that convinced several of his peers that he had won the fight. Instead, Albazi was handed the victory via split decision, causing an uproar from fans and fighters alike.
Kara-Frances’ teammate, Israel Adesanya, immediately called for firing the two judges who favored Albazi along with offering some more colorful commentary in response to the blatant robbery.
Honorable Mentions:
Joselyn Edwards vs. Lucie Pudilova – UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen – (2 votes)
Kicking off the UFC’s return to Kansas City, Joselyn Edwards escaped with a much-maligned split decision after giving up seven and a half minutes of control time to Lucie Pudilova. Scoring on two of her seven takedown attempts, Pudilova lit up Edwards on the ground with a series of ground-and-pound strikes. However, Edwards held the advantage in significant strikes, landing 56 compared to Pudilova’s 39.
Media scores from 15 MMA news outlets favored Pudilova with them primarily pointing to her control time that spanned 50% of the contest. In the end, Edwards walked away with a split decision, giving us our first big robbery of 2023.
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC 284 – (1 vote)
This is one nomination for Robbery of the Year that had fight fans understandably split. After dominating the featherweight division for years, Alexander Volkanovski stepped up to lightweight for an opportunity to challenge reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev.
Earning Fight of the Year honors, Makhachev vs. Volkanovski delivered a brilliant back-and-forth battle that ultimately saw the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ leave with his title intact, though it didn’t come without a bit of controversy. Makhachev clearly controlled the ground game, scoring four of nine takedowns with more than seven and a half minutes of control time.
But it was Volkanovski who would go on to land 164 total strikes compared to Makhachev’s 95. That discrepancy was more than enough for fans to see it in favor of Volkanovski, but all three judges disagreed, favoring Makhachev via unanimous decision.
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru usman – UFC 294 – (1 vote)
Former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman stepped into UFC 294 on 11 days’ notice to square off with undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev in the evening’s co-main event. Despite the short-notice nature of the contest and the fact that Usman was moving up a weight class, Chimaev had a surprisingly difficult time while tussling with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’
After 15 minutes, judge David Lethaby scored the bout a 28-28 draw while judges Derek Clearly and Vito Paolillo scored it in favor of Chimaev, resulting in a majority decision. Though not everyone agreed with the decision, Chimaev landed nearly twice as many total strikes as his opponent. On top of that, Chimaev scored on four of 12 attempted takedowns resulting in 7:16 in control time.
Which robbery would you have voted as the best (or worst) or 2023?
Full List Of The LowKick MMA 2023 Robbery Of The Year Votes:
- Ross Markey: Amir Albazi
- Ian Shutts: Amir Albazi
- Murdo Todd: Joselyn Edwards
- Craig Pekios: Islam Makhachev
- Makoa Goble: Amir Albazi
- Tony King: Amir Albazi
- Red Pill MMA: Khamzat Chimaev
- Michael Owens: Amir Albazi
- Danny Podolsky: Joselyn Edwards