Tag: UFC Flyweight Division

In the Southern Hemisphere, decisions go down the opposite way.  PicProps:  MMAJunkie

Despite the most carefully laid plans of UFC officials, a rematch will be necessary to determine a finalist in the UFC’s tournament to crown its first 125 pound champion, and an Aussie official has stepped up to take the blame.

Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall battled to a draw through three rounds, and would have gone to a sudden victory fourth-round because Zuffa was Batman-prepared and made sure they had a way to settle such an unsatisfying outcome.  But a tabulation error by Craig Waller — the Executive Director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales — mistakenly crowned Johnson the winner, “and turned the whole banger right poofter-saucy,” according to Waller, adding that he felt like “a right frumious Bandersnatch.”

It’s unclear what was written on Bruce Buffer’s cards, but he initially announced ”29-28 McCall, 29-28 Johnson, and 29-28 for the winner by majority decision,” Johnson.  McCall lost his shit and ran out of the cage, and Johnson screamed like a virgin, touched for the very first time.

Now, those announced scores would equal a split decision victory for Johnson — a majority decision would have meant two judges for Johnson and one judge seeing a draw.  And it turned out that one judge did see it a draw.  Then it turned out that, in fact, two judges (Sal D’Amato and Anthony Dimitriou) had seen the fight a draw after three rounds, and had wanted to see a fourth round. Waller had managed to miss a 10-8 round for McCall on D’Amato’s card, even though paying attention to such things is kinda important.

The third judge, Kon Papai [Ed Note: actually his name] scored the fight 29-28 for Johnson.  That’s what you call a “majority draw”, and “let’s get ready to sudden death, bitches”, but somehow Johnny Koalapunter over here managed to screw up his main job of transcribing and tabulating scores.

“I feel like a right dinkie-donger,” said Waller.  ”Make no mistake, Sal’s score was a kinky dingo’s breakfast, but it was my mullyshonky.  And that Buffer bloke is jakes to a kookaburra, as far as I’m concerned.”

Dana White was understandably upset by the outcome, saying “[Expletive] this [expletive], I [expletive]the whole[expletive] [expletive],” and explained that a rematch would happen at a date to be determined soon, saying they’d “[expletive] that [expletive] when they [expletive] [expletive].”

Zuffa has tended to avoid the tournament system in the UFC due to just these kinds of snags, but had elected to hold a four-man bracket to inaugurate its first flyweight champion, signing two of the top-ranked fighters in the weight class (McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani), and inviting two top-flight bantamweights to drop down (Johnson and Joe Benavidez).  It was the first time that the UFC has put on a tournament since 1982, when Jean Claude van Damme won the whole thing via flying holy shit did you see that bro.

[RX]