Ian McCall got robbed.
At the very least, the man needed a 10-8 in the third round, which was one of his best rounds, but apart from a second round that most gave to Demetrious Johnson, it was McCall that did serious work in the stand-up department, it was McCall that effectively damaged Johnson after taking him down multiple times throughout the fight, and it was McCall that seemed in control of the action from bell to bell.
Johnson put up a great fight, and he did push the action to the best of his abilities, but was everything he did on the feet better than everything McCall did on the ground to try and finish the fight?
Absolutely not.
Now, supposedly, MMA Weekly reports the decision, which went as a “majority decision” to Johnson, will be overturned and that there will be a rematch of McCall vs. Johnson.
There should not be any doubt about whether this is the correct move because the rematch officially became cemented in stone as the correct move in the exact minute Johnson’s name came out of Bruce Buffer’s mouth in announcing the winner of the bout.
Not to take anything away from Johnson because, again, he did push the pace on McCall at times and he did hurt McCall occasionally during the fight. However, he did not inflict much damage, if any, to McCall, and even the shots he hurt McCall with were shaken off with a smile.
A flawed judging system with an inconsistent criteria defeated “Uncle Creepy,” the winner of Friday’s fight regardless of the name that came out of Buffer’s mouth, and all despite McCall showing his own degree of aggression, as well as effective striking, Octagon control, killer instinct and and all-around better game, combined with a little bit of heart and confidence in his own abilities.
Johnson came to fight and deserves credit, but at the end of the day he’s warming up McCall’s spot across the cage from Joseph Benavidez for the time being.
When the rematch happens, here’s hoping that despicably-inconsistent system of judging gets it right for once. And to the judges, make sure you’re 100 percent on your call before you rob another fighter of his win, if it’s not asking too much.
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