“Atrocious” – that’s how Dana White described the judging at UFC 307 at the post-fight presser. The one who faced the most atrocity on the scorecards tonight will probably be the two-time champion and now-retired Carla Esparza.  Esparza’s defeat against Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 is causing an uproar among fans. The first-ever UFC strawweight champion of the world ended her career with a unanimous decision loss against ‘The Tiny Tornado.’ The fight was so close that the MMA community thinks it was nothing but a daylight robbery.

‘The Cookie Monster’ was already coming off a loss against Zhang Weili and was away from the world of fighting for a good two years. She thought of ending her career on a good note but that’s far from reality now. As for Pennington, it marked the end of a two-fight skid. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion’s spouse was vocal about decisions going against her throughout her career, but in Utah, she was not on the wrong end of it.

The opening round was a shocker for the MMA community, as many expected Carla Esparza to take that round. However, according to the judges, the former champion fell short against Pennington. The first round was crucial for ‘The Cookie Monster,’ as she appeared dominant throughout. Esparza successfully executed a takedown and landed several sharp elbows, while her opponent focused on evading her.

The second round kicked off with ‘The Cookie Monster’ coming aggressively towards ‘The Tiny Tornado’, who tried her best to maintain a healthy distance but it was a failure from Pennington’s side. Both the fighters traded good low kicks but Esparza connected a strong right hand, rocking her opponent. ‘The Tiny Tornado’ fired back with some fiery leg kicks but those didn’t work against Esparza as she landed another right jab on her. Well, at the end of the second round, ‘The Cookie Monstre’ threw another takedown pinning Pennington against the cage.

The third round was Carla Esparza‘s dominance as well but according to the judges, this was not enough for them to give the victory to the outgoing champion. As per the official scorecards, Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) at UFC 307. After her defeat, an emotional Esparza took the mic and announced that her fighting days might be coming to an end. Her speech was emotional but the fans made sure that she felt special in her outgoing match. Regardless, the MMA community appears to be done with judges specifically at UFC 307. Some of the comments by the fans are as follows:

Fans react as UFC 307 sparks debate over controversial judging decisions

Staring off, it’s the actual point by the judges that made no sense for the MMA fans. Interestingly, this is not the first time that such judging helped the other fighter to clinch the victory. At the UFC 305, Judge Howie Booth gave Tai Tuivasa a score of 30-27, despite Jairzinho Rozenstruik dominating the fight. Looking at this a fan wrote, “30-27 is actually insanely stupid, what a robbery”

From the absurd judging at UFC 305 to the judging at UFC 307, one thing remains constant: the judges don’t hold themselves accountable enough for the decisions they make – “these judges are ruining this ufc matches long !!!!!”

Sal D’Amato might be one of the most controversial judges of all time working for the UFC. His decision at the Christian Rodriguez vs. Issac Dulgarian fight witnessed the ire of the MMA community as they called him out to retire from the sport. Well, it appears he made the same mistake at UFC 307 as well, “Inconsistent scoring by Sal, if that’s your criteria in RD3 RD1 is Esparza’s”

The first round was Carla Esparza’s but Pennington clinched it on the scorecards. Looking at this a fan wrote, “giving tecia the first round is criminal.” Furthermore, another fan called out Sal D’Amato’s inconsistent judging “What is that Sal D’amato scorecard ??? makes no sense.”

Last but not least, the MMA community appears to be done with the judging scandals, “Fire that Man who gave 30-27 to Tecia”

With the conclusion of the fight at UFC 307, the MMA community is more curious about the judging aspect of the sport. Will it get better in the future? We don’t know. Regardless, what’s your take on the commotion? State your thoughts in the comments below.