The main event at Noche UFC raised a lot of eyebrows. The rematch for the women’s flyweight championship between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko ended in a split draw and many people questioned one of the judges, Mike Bell. Moreover, veteran MMA referee John McCarthy also weighed in on the discussion.

In the fifth round, Mike Bell awarded Alexa Grasso a score of 10-8. It is noteworthy that had he put up the score as 10-9, Valentina Shevchenko would have been crowned the champion. Despite the unexpected outcome, Grasso retained her belt. Let’s see what John McCarthy had to say about that.

John McCarthy didn’t side with the result of the fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko

The veteran UFC referee mentioned that he agrees with the fact that Alexa Grasso was dominant in the fifth round in the main event at Noche UFC. However, he does believe that 10-8 was the appropriate score for the round. In an episode of the ‘Weighing in’ podcast, McCarthy said, “The real question is, do I give that round a 10-8? No. I don’t see that as a score in this.”

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Furthermore, he believes that there were certain times during the fight when Valentina Shevchenko looked hurt. It was evident in the second round when she got dropped by a right hand from Grasso. However, it still did not make sense for Mike Bell to score the fight as he did.

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“There were times when you saw Shevchenko get hurt in that fight and the second round was one of them… But you can’t give it a 10-8,” said John McCarthy. Moreover, he even suggested a reason for Bell’s decision to give the 10-8 score.

Veteran official ideates the reason Bell gave the 5th round score

There was a time when Valentina Shevchenko found herself in the same predicament as the first fight against Alexa Grasso. The champion got on the back and was close to finishing the fight. However, ‘Bullet’ was saved by the bell. Similarly, John McCarthy believes this could be the reason why Mike Bell gave a 10-8 score. He further stated, “I think by the end of that fight, Mike Bell is the judge who gave the 10-8. He was looking saying, ‘You know what, she was close to putting her away with that,’ and that’s why he gives her the 10-8.”

All in all, McCarthy did not dispute the fact that the final round went to Alexa Grasso. But he stood firm on his ground, claiming that Bell’s score was not justified. “I don’t agree with it. I don’t think it was a 10-8, but I thought it was clear that it was Alexa Grasso who wins that round,” said McCarthy.

Valentina Shevchenko was livid with the final result of the fight. She believes that the decision wasn’t fair, and if it was fair, she would have won the fight. It remains to be seen what’s next for the former champion, as there could be a possibility that a trilogy fight takes place in the not-so-distant future.

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