The recently concluded UFC 307 event lived up to the expectations of the fans. Some of the elite fighters in the promotion put up some incredible performances at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, the judging on the night was not up to the mark, and some of the results surprised many. One of the fights which was a topic of discussion was the clash between Jose Aldo and Mario Bautista.

The American took home the majority decision which many felt was a surprise call and a rather bad one from the judges. Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier took to his YouTube channel to share his honest take on the event.

Daniel Cormier points out the only reason Jose Aldo lost at UFC 307

Former featherweight king Jose Aldo walked off from the Octagon at UFC 307 with a look of disbelief on his face. The return against Mario Bautista was perhaps the legend’s last attempt to climb up the ranks and challenge for division gold. However, the fight was nowhere close to exciting as both fighters adopted a very cautious approach. Aldo, who is known for his exceptional striking, landed punches in the fight but failed to knock his opponent out. However, on most occasions, he successfully defended the takedown attempts from Bautista.

The fight went the distance, and it was down to the judges to decide the victor. Surprisingly, Bautista was declared the winner, which raised a lot of questions. If we look closely at the fight, the winner failed to take down Aldo once in the entire match. On the contrary, Aldo did land good combinations in all three rounds. Cormier feels that this was the right decision as the former champion failed to impart any damage on his opponent. However, he took the time to criticize the judges at the entire event.

Speaking on his YouTube channel ‘DC’said, ” Mario Bautista and Jose Aldo went to a split decision. Mario Bautista just clenched him, and I get it. It might not be fan-friendly you might not like the way the fight played out. But it was right. Guys controlling the Octagon is a former criterion. You have to sustain some damage you can’t let a guy hold you along the Octagon side the entirety of that round and expect to get a decision by some judges. that honestly did not do a great job tonight. There wasn’t great judging tonight inside of the arena in Salt Lake City. And I think that’s probably the only bad thing I can say about this entire event.” 

Cormier was not the only one who criticized the judging of the event. UFC head honcho Dana White was also critical about the judging and, during the post-fight press conference, shared his honest opinion on the whole. Even Conor McGregor joined him in criticizing the judges. White was so upset with the judging that he had only one word for the judging he saw.

Dana White and Conor McGregor have some harsh words for UFC 307 judges

In most MMA fights, the scoring of the judges plays a vital role in deciding the winner. However, during the UFC 307 event, the scoring seemed to be a bit off track. The Aldo fight was not the only one which raised some eyebrows. The co-main event fight between Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington was also a topic of contentious discussion. Most experts felt that the former champion won the first round after she landed some brutal shots and controlled the fight. However, two judges scored the round in favor of Pena, which helped her win the title.

UFC CEO, during his post-fight press conference, seemed dejected with the decisions and shared his honest opinion on the whole. He said, “I thought the judging was atrocious tonight. I will just leave it at that. It was atrocious,”. He also blamed the referee, Dave Seljestad, for not faring at his job well. White added, “I always think that the referee should be active on that. A 100 percent, especially when somebody keeps doing it to stall.”

McGregor also seemed to agree with the sentiments of the UFC CEO. He took to his X account and tweeted, “That was Jose’s story. Bulls–t decision… This sport is the fan’s sport. Remember this and act accordingly referees, going forward, thank you,”. What do you think about the judging at UFC 307? Was it up to the mark? Let us know in the comments below.