Gregory Rodrigues pulled off the most impressive victory of his career so far by defeating No.7-ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez in front of a large crowd that gathered to watch them at UFC Sacramento. However, the Brazilian’s triumph was marred by a scoring controversy that made the fans collectively revolt against the judges.

UFC’s comeback to Sacramento after seven years proved to be an exhilarating night, as most fights ended via brutal finishes. But the headliner between Hernandez and Rodrigues remained a 25-minute classic back-and-forth scrap. In the end, it was the Brazilian who displayed his highly improved takedown defense and measured striking to get the better of the Mexican-American.

Despite Hernandez landing just 3 out of 28 takedown attempts, Rodrigues managed to get back to his feet and picked his opponent apart with well-timed leg and body kicks. In fact, ‘Robocop’ scored three knockdowns, with the majority of them coming via leg kicks. After five grueling rounds, the judges scored the fight in favor of the Brazilian veteran, who got the win via unanimous decision. However, his victory was marred by the 48-47, 49-46, and 48-47 scorecards.

Two judges, Ron McCarthy and Chris Leben, rightfully scored the third round for Hernandez, giving him a 10-9. However, the third judge, Derek Cleary, ended up scoring the fifth round in favor of ‘Fluffy,’ which had fans and experts disagreeing with the judgment.

To be fair, the final round was definitely a close encounter between the headlining middleweights. Hernandez landed 24 significant strikes, while Rodrigues answered with 27. But a major distinction came when ‘Robocop’ actually landed a leg kick that knocked down ‘Fluffy,’ and that should’ve been enough to score the round in Rodrigues’ favor. But judge Derek Cleary didn’t seem to take that into consideration, which invited instant scrutiny from a renowned MMA personality. 

“Two judges had it 48-47 Robocop, one had it 49-46. I don’t get the 48-47 cards. What two rounds did Fluffy win? He only won the third round. #UFCSacramento,” MMA journalist Adam Marin wrote on X in disagreement.

In the end, Gregory Rodrigues had a huge advantage in total significant strikes, landing 174 compared to Hernandez’s 90 to secure a comfortable victory. Still, fans joined the chorus of people calling out the judges for scoring two rounds in favor of Anthony Hernandez and accused them of robbing Gregory Rodrigues of a fifth-round win. 

Fans call out judges over controversial scoring of UFC Sacramento main event 

One angered fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “48-47???!!!! Got money on fluffy but cut these judges #ufcsacramento.” Followed by a different user showing their disappointment with the UFC Sacramento main event scorecard, writing, “How did the judges give Fluffy two rounds lol. I had that 49-46 easy.” 

Going by the stats of the showdown, especially the debated fifth round, Rodrigues should have received the 49-46 score. However, it seems the judge had a different lens through which he viewed the fight. But that’s definitely not the only time a judge’s scorecard has overshadowed a fighter’s victory. 

Three years ago, a fight between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera was also entangled in controversy because of a judge’s scorecard. ‘The Sandman’ clearly dominated ‘Chito’ across all five rounds to get the victory at UFC San Antonio, with two judges scoring the bout 50-45 and 49-46 in favor of Sandhagen. However, judge Joel Ojeda scored the fight 48-47 for Vera, which raised some serious eyebrows regarding the credibility of the decision. 

Even before that, another highly contested judge’s scorecard came during Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Paul Felder in 2020. At UFC Vegas 14, Dos Anjos, who is set to make his comeback at UFC 332, clearly won all five rounds against Felder. Yet, Chris Lee scored it 48-47 for Felder, leaving fans and experts scratching their heads.  

Fans noticed a similar pattern unfolding at UFC Sacramento, and one fan simply couldn’t understand how Hernandez won any round outside the third, where he was clearly ahead of Rodrigues, writing, “Two of the three judges had it 48-47? How Sway? Outside of R3, there is not a single round you could give Fluffy.”

Despite the controversy, one fan seemed to enjoy the clash, writing, “I would assume that wins FOTN. That was a WAR. Both of these guys aren’t going to be able to walk for a week after that. #UFCSacramento.” 

Looking at the scrap, it seems the UFC would most likely give the main event the Fight of the Night bonus, which would be $100K for each fighter. But Stanley Dorsainvil vs. Gauge Young also remains a strong contender for the FOTN.

After winning the UFC Sacramento main event, Gregory Rodrigues called out former champion Dricus du Plessis for a clash that could potentially be his ticket to a shot at middleweight gold. However, if that fight fails to materialize, there are other contenders, such as Caio Borralho, who could make for a serious matchup against him. That said, it would be interesting to see what the UFC has planned next for ‘Robocop.’