Now, UFC 308 embarks on its one-and-done event journey today on the dry land of Abu Dhabi. The first fight of the event kicked off with the prelims, where undefeated Russian prospect Rinat Fakhretdinov faced PFL finalist Carlos Leal in a contested battle. Numerous fight analysts and pundits felt that Leal deserved the victory; however, the judges rendered their decision in favor of Fakhretdinov, a result that was difficult for the commentary team—led by Daniel Cormier, Jon Anik, and Paul Felder—to digest.

In discussing Carlos Leal’s defeat, the commentary team raised questions about Fakhretdinov’s victory immediately following the fight. During the post-fight press conference, a reporter brought up the Russian’s performance, asking, “The commentary seemed to think you won a couple of rounds, and maybe you got the third, or I don’t know. They seemed to think it was 29-28 the other way and were outraged at the 30-27.”

To this, Rinat Fakhretdinov expressed his disappointment with the commentary team, stating, “Bad commentary.” He further elaborated when asked about the reporters’ comments, saying, “First off, it was pretty close; it could have gone either way. But I don’t have any doubt the second and third rounds were fine. So after your words, people will say again that the Arabs brought the decision.”

In their three-round battle, all three judges favored Fakhretdinov with scorecards of 29-28, 30-27, and 29-28. The scorecard from Middle Eastern judge Hadi Mohamed Ali drew significant criticism from fans, raising concerns for the UFC and its officials, as this marks the second fight card in recent weeks to face scrutiny for questionable scorecards, prompting the former bantamweight champion to share his opinion.

Aljamain Sterling’s take on judge Hadi Mohamed Ali’s Scorecard

Today at Etihad Arena, Brazilian prospect Carlos Leal stepped onto the UFC scene for the first time after making waves in various regional and international MMA circuits. At just 30 years old, he has built an impressive record of 21-6-0. In his debut fight for the promotion, he went toe-to-toe with Rinat Fakhretdinov in a closely contested battle. However, the judges’ scorecards did not reflect the fight’s competitiveness, with judge Hadi Mohamed Ali’s scorecard drawing significant attention from the MMA community.

Among those weighing in was Aljamain Sterling, who is preparing for his showdown at UFC 310 later this year. Disappointed by the biased scorecard, Sterling took to X to express his frustration. He wrote, “So I just got to catch up and watch RF vs Leal, and man, 30-27 is a wild one. Personally, I thought RDs 2&3 was for Leal, with RD 2 being pretty close in terms of damage and strike count. I may get heat for this take, but in a close fight, I think the judges got it wrong. UFC 308”

What are your thoughts on the scorecard for the Carlos Leal vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov fight? Do you think Leal was unjustly deprived of victory in that prelims showdown? Drop your opinion below.