UFC 307 delivered spectacularly with UFC head honcho Dana White having a lot of reasons to celebrate. However, he was left with a sour taste in his mouth owing to the nature of ‘judging’ on the card. The fiasco had a lot to do with the abysmal scorecards and White expressed his feelings bluntly.

What is more interesting is that the UFC CEO was not the only one criticizing the judgments. Even Daniel Cormier spoke about the same during the event. There were more than a few controversial scorecards and the most spoken about was Julianna Pena getting a split-decision win over Raquel Pennington in the co-main event. However, DC has brought to attention that round one of Alex Pereira versus Khalil Rountree Jr. was not properly scored either.

Daniel Cormier scorned the judges for a bad scorecard

The former two-division king added, “But he settled himself, he took his time. By the way, I didn’t think he lost round one. I think Pereira should have been up two to one. But the judging here tonight was not A+. These people were fu** up. It was unbelievable to see some of the scorecards that these judges had tonight.” 

Eventually, Pereira nullified the judges’ impact on the fight and knocked out ‘The War Horse’ late in the 4th round. However, this story could have played out differently if the bout had gone the distance. Expressing his disappointment, White said at the post-fight press conference, “I felt like I was at a boxing match in Ireland tonight. I thought the judging was atrocious tonight. I’ll just leave it that. It was atrocious.” This was targeted at yet another contentious decision on the card. The fight in question was Jose Aldo taking on Mario Bautista. Let’s see why.

Was Jose Aldo’s loss at UFC 307 doubtful?

Aldo’s split decision loss to Bautista sparked significant controversy among the MMA community. The authorized decision gave an advantage to the American as he won the fight despite being dominated by ‘The King of Rio’. It was clear to the fans that ‘Junior’ deserved to win and was such a profound matter that even Conor McGregor expressed his displeasure at the result. 

‘The Notorious One’ voiced out his opinion over fighters stalling the fight and demanded a timer that would help limit the time of inactivity. He further criticized the rule books while posting his opinion on X. He stated, “As a referee, if the fighters go to the same place of stalling over and over I would be putting the position on a clock. And each time they end back there the clock goes shorter by 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds, 8 seconds, 6 seconds, etc etc etc. Separate, separate, separate! No point prolonging these positions as if they haven’t taken place the same way prior and nothing has taken place but stawling. My opinion.”

The same sentiment was echoed by UFC CEO Dana White was who fairly disgusted during the post-fight presser. He said, “I thought the judging was atrocious tonight. I will just leave it at that. It was atrocious,” Owing to the controversial nature of his victory, Mario Bautista came forward to express his side on the matter. Interestingly, he justified his victory saying, “I got cut in the second round. I was hit with something pretty good. He has a good takedown defense, but he cannot get off the stage.” The American ended the conversation by claiming that he had done enough to earn the judges’ nod.

However, stars like Conor McGregor were not buying any of this. Reports indicate that even Joe Rogan observed the judges’ apparent disengagement during the fight. This incident, coupled with a growing pattern of questionable scoring in recent UFC events, including UFC 300, has reached a boiling point for fans and veterans alike. The cumulative frustration over these decisions has led many to question the integrity of UFC’s judging system. What are your thoughts on this ongoing issue?