UFC 150‘s main event did not conclude without controversy on Saturday night, as Benson Henderson walked away with a split decision victory and the UFC title.
Instantaneously, the MMA community hit their computers to voice their displeasure with the decision.
I was admittedly one of those who thought Frankie Edgar won a clear decision.
Yes, the fight was close, but I had a 49-46 scoring in favor of the former champ.
However, the only person to blame for the result of the fight is Frankie Edgar himself.
Yes, he may have won the fight on a hypothetical scorecard, but you can’t complain if you didn’t finish your opponent.
It’s almost as if all of Frankie Edgar’s title fights are controversial and result in complaints from himself or his opponent.
I will save Edgar and the others their breath. If you don’t finish the fight, don’t blame the judges. You were the one who allowed them to use personal judgement in calling somebody a winner or a loser.
Edgar has more decisions than finishes in his career. Someone complained in at least one of his two fights with BJ Penn, Gray Maynard and Ben Henderson.
Penn thought he retained his title at UFC 112 when Edgar won the belt. However, if Penn had finished the fight, there would have been no lingering doubt.
Following his split draw with Maynard at UFC 125, both fighters said they thought they’d done enough to win. Maynard complained like it would make a difference.
If both those guys wanted to prove they won, they should have finished the fight.
Last night, Edgar complained that he thought he won, and for good reason. However, if you truly want a fair assessment of the fight, you must earn a stoppage.
I understand that finishing top-tier fighters is no easy task. That’s not the point.
The point is, these fighters cannot complain about letting three outside judges score their fights when they’re capable of taking care of business themselves.
Judging has always been a hot topic, yet people are surprised and outraged when they appear to get it wrong. The fact is, if the fighters finished their fights, they would leave no doubt and wouldn’t have these problems.
Until then, they must simply keep their mouth shut, accept the decision and get back in the gym and win the next one.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com