When fights go to the judges’ cards, the losing party almost always feels robbed of a win. It is something like a longstanding tradition to blame judges for one’s loss. However, when other fighters rally in support of the losing side’s claims, they force people to consider it as a possibility. Which is exactly what Rafael Dos Anjos did following UFC on ESPN 8.

UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Harris saw a series of controversial decisions, leading up to the co-main event. Ranging from Claudia Gadelha’s win over Angela Hill and that of Dan Ige against Edson Barboza. However, the judges have faced a lot of flak for their decision pertaining to the scrap between Song Yadong and Marlon Vera.

Following the event, multiple fighters and fans took to social media to voice their concerns regarding the haphazard manner of judgments. So much so that the Brazilian fighter feels the rules may have changed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“Did judging criteria change with the pandemic? Who gets beat up more takes the W?” enquired Rafael Dos Anjos. Anjos went on to criticize the judges’ performance, “Unbelievable! Crazy judges. Chito Vera won that fight.”

As far as fighters are concerned, one cannot blame them for feeling this way. Considering the amount of effort the put in and the sacrifices they make, it is understandably unsettling to lose a fight due to someone else’s incompetence.

However, the UFC and the fighters need to come together to figure out whether the problem lies with the judges’ or the judging system as a whole. Because this is not the first time this issue has been raised. And it certainly will not be the last.

Several fighters stand shoulder to shoulder with Rafael dos Anjos

Since this issue is not an isolated event, it is not surprising that many fighters feel the same way. Keeping the Yadong vs Vera matchup in mind, fighters like Jorge Masvidal leaped to the Ecuadorean’s defense.

“Call the cops #UFC Chito got robbed,” said Gamebred on social media.

Chito executed two out of three takedowns successfully and continued to storm off following the results. He dismissed Song’s attempts to shake hands, in what some may claim to be a poor display of sportsmanship.

“I don’t lost the fight to the China men I lost to the judges tonight. All my hard work to the [expletive] drain, I can’t believe this horse s*** tonight,” said Vera on Twitter.

It seems like luck has been on the Chinaman’s side for quite some time. For his previous opponent, Cody Stamann expresses similar grievances.

Do you think the judges robbed Vera of a well-deserved win?