Makhachev Wins Close Fight Over Volkanovski – But Did The Judges Blow It?

It was a fantastic fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski – but some think the winner was wrongly called.

While it was a close Lightweight championship fight, the judges unanimously scored the fight in favor of the Russian mixed martial artist.

Two had it 48-47, while one had it 49-46.

There’s no question with the ground control time that Makhachev won rounds one and four.

Volkanovski most definitely round five – but the real controversy was in round two and three.

Two judges that scored it 48-47 gave Volkanovski the nod in round three.

So that would leave one up for grabs – which was a close round two.

Machachev had the significant strike advantage of 59% to 55%. He also had the slight control advantage.

But it’s close enough to where it could have gone to Volkanovski.

While many felt that Volkanovski won round three (including the judges), the numbers show otherwise.

Machachev had the 72% to 37% significant strike advantage with the slight edge in control.

Here are some fans on social media that gave Vokanovski the nod.

One said: “Clear 10-9 Volkanovski in round 5. I have him winning 3-2, 48-47. Seems like my timeline agrees. Let’s see what judges say.”

In response, a user tweeted: “Yeah I thought 3-2 was pretty obvious.”

And another wrote: “3-2 Makhachev but no issue with 3-2 Volkanovski. Round 2 I think is the deciding round.

Additionally, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, who was not on the call for UFC 284, was stunned when Volkanovski‘s hand wasn’t raised.

Personally, I was one of those who had the fight scored 3-2 in favor of Volkanovski – but that’s based on the eye test and not entirely backed up by the numbers.

Volkanovski appeared to land a lot of damage but he got dominated in two rounds which turned out to be too much to overcome.

But I knew the decision would likely go to Makhachev given what we heard from the broadcast booth.

And after analyzing it, it’s hard to disagree that the winner shouldn’t have been Makhachev.

Regardless, it was still a fantastic fight that was extremely close.

These are the two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and the rematch can’t come soon enough.

Article by Anthony Russo