Never leave it in the hands of the judges, UFC President Dana White famously says to every fighter. In the wild sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) even a fight you thought was in the bag can go wayward without a finish.
And there’s no worse feeling (besides getting knocked out) than losing a fight you thought you had won. Even in bouts that have appeared to be dominated by one fighter, a controversial call has often arisen from the cageside judges who apparently saw the action unfold differently.
There have been some atrocious judging errors in the short history of mixed martial arts, and we broke down the top 10 biggest robberies in its history.
10. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabio Maldonado
The great Fedor Emelianenko had a long and illustrious career in MMA, becoming the Pride heavyweight champion and remaining unbeaten until he suffered a series of defeats in Strikeforce.
Once that promotion was bought out and absorbed into the UFC, Emelianenko opted to retire for a short time before returning to competition in Japan and his native Russia. There, he fought UFC castoff Fabio Maldonado at 2016’s EFN 50.
The fight was an egregious robbery in terms of judging.
Emelianenko was arguably knocked out in the first round as he lay motionless getting punched. The referee refused to stop it, and Fedor went on to arguably win the next two rounds. Fedor’s face was an absolute swollen mess after three rounds with the Brazilian, yet he was awarded the decision victory regardless.
Maldonado left the fight with barely any damage, but with the fight taking place in Russia, it seemed there was no way he was going to get a fair shake when the fight went the distance.
Emelianenko may have won the decision, but also took a serious beating from an opponent a full weight class smaller than him. Maldonado may have easily gotten the nod if the fight was anywhere but Russia, and a huge controversy justifiably ensued from this highly questionable call.
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