In mixed martial arts, close fights are bound to occur on nearly every card. For UFC Fight Night 73, the bout between Michael Johnson and Beneil Dariush came down to a controversial split decision. Dariush walked away with the victory on two of the judge’s scorecards in a fight that many individuals felt was won by Johnson. When looking at the statistics and outcry over this result, it is easy to understand why so many individuals were upset with the announcement that Dariush was declared the winner.
Johnson was riding a four-fight win streak coming into this fight. His speed and combinations seemed to confuse Dariush, even dropping him with a powerful shot late in the first round. Dariush struggled to get Johnson to the ground, where he could attempt to implement his grappling game. Dariush attempted seven takedowns throughout the fight, but Johnson was able to stuff them all and negate that factor of his opponent’s game.
According to the bout report from Fight Metric, both men landed 37 percent of their significant strikes. However, Johnson was a bit more active, as he scored with 84 significant strikes compared to Dariush landing 75.
In two of the three rounds, Dariush was statistically more accurate with his striking, but Johnson was the more active fighter in Round 1 and Round 2. Looking at these breakdowns shows just how close this fight was from a numbers perspective.
Still, MMA is not all about numbers.
MMA Decisions chronicles judging decisions, and their report shows some conflicting views. Judges Richard Bertrand and Douglas Crosby scored the fight for Dariush while Sal D’Amato gave the win to Johnson. All 11 of the media members involved scored that fight for Johnson.
During the post-fight press conference, both men insinuated that Johnson may have won the fight. Dariush recognized how close the fight was from start to finish.
“When I heard it was a split decisions I know it could have gone either way and I would have understood,” Dariush said.
“I saw the confusion on everyone’s face,” Johnson said. “I feel like I pushed the pace throughout the fight and stuffed all of his takedowns. I controlled the whole fight and that’s why you don’t leave it to the judges. Maybe I’ll try to get on a card where these judges aren’t judging but I can’t control that.”
Coming into this fight, Johnson was on a major push toward a shot at the lightweight championship. He is ranked in the No. 5 position, and a victory here could have potentially lined up bouts against men who are currently sitting ahead of him. Dariush is sitting in position No. 12, and this victory can push him into the Top 10 within the division. This was his fifth straight victory dating back to August of 2014.
Close and controversial decisions occur very frequently in the MMA community. The public and media feel like Johnson took the victory but the judges did not agree with that outcome. In the past the UFC has treated these controversial decisions as a victory for the slighted party so it will be interesting to see what is next for both Johnson and Dariush.
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