The UFC’s second-ever card in Saudi Arabia did not start well. After all, the first bout of the Saturday card was pretty controversial for all the wrong reasons. Hamdy Abdelwahab and Jamal Pogues opened the proceedings with their heavyweight clash, which went the distance. But when the official decision came in, most were pretty surprised. This included UFC commentator and analyst Michael Bisping, who termed the split decision victory for Abdelwahab ‘a robbery’.

But why does the former 185lbs champ think this? Well, let’s hear from the man himself. “Abdelwahab robbed Jamal Pogues of the victory, okay. Jamal Pogues won, he went out there, he beat him on the feet, simple as that. I’m sorry how one judge gave it 30-27 [to Abdelwahab] is absolutely beyond me, okay? It was a robbery but fair play. Hey listen he’s in the win column, it’s a win he’ll get his win bonus, fair play,” Bisping declared on his official YouTube channel.

Indeed, the 30-27 scorecard in favor of Abdelwahab does seem like a travesty, as Bisping pointed out. After all, Pogues clearly dominated the fight in the first two rounds, landing 22 significant strikes to the Egyptians’ 11 in the first and 22 to 12 in the second rounds respectively. The fact that the judge didn’t give even one round to Pogues seems like a clear mistake. And Pogues has promised to take some pretty drastic steps to correct it.

Jamal Pogues vows drastic measures after controversial decision on Dana White’s Saudi card

As the decision was being read out, Jamal Pogues was left in disbelief. It was therefore not surprising to see the LA-born fighter take to social media and absolutely excoriate the judges for that decision. “We know we got robbed. There’s not really much to say when you fight in people’s f–king country and shit, they’re going to pick the hometown guy,” he wrote on his Instagram Story.

It is important to note that Hamdy is Egyptian and lives in America. Riyadh, where the fight took place, was clearly not his hometown. But Pogues may be referring to the fact that Hamdy is Arab and Muslim, which is the exact majority demography of Saudi Arabia, and feels that he was robbed because of this.

Pogues has now fallen to 2-2 in the promotion and is at risk of being cut by the Dana White-led promotion. But the California native is determined to go out fighting and will appeal the decision to the Athletic Commission. “I know I won the f–king fight. We’re about to get this shit overturned. I’m going to the commission, f–k that shit,” Pogues declared. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s take on the Abdelwahab-Pogues decision?