Last weekend, Rafael dos Anjos took control of Paul Felder over the course of five rounds in the main event of UFC Vegas 14. Despite nothing unusual during the fight, the scorecard of one of the judges stirred a lot of controversies. UFC welterweight challenger Gilbert Burns blasted the official for the way he scored the fight.
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This past Saturday, the former lightweight champ, Dos Anjos, dominated Paul Felder. The latter had taken the fight on a brief notice of five days. Felder did what he could, but he just couldn’t fight with an opponent who came into the fight with a full camp. At the end of the contest, even ‘The Irish Dragon’ knew that he was about to suffer back-to-back defeats.
However, when Bruce Buffer read the scorecard of the first judge, Felder was as surprised as everyone else who had watched the fight. Judge Chris Lee had scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Felder. The scorecard garnered a lot of criticism.
The next challenger in line for a title shot at 170 pounds, Gilbert Burns, was very critical of Lee’s decision. He didn’t mince his words when he addressed the same.
Who da fook is that guy? Chris Lee? https://t.co/JYG67eVTBa
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 15, 2020
#UFCVegas14 lessons RDA is a 155 top 5 not 170, Felder is a warrior and one judge is terrible at his job
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 15, 2020
Fuck these judges! I’m always looking for the finish but sometimes it’s hard these judges are doing a terrible job wow please @danawhite @ufc or whoever can help Please we cannot have our payments be decided (1 or 2 checks) by these crazy judges 🤯🤯🤯 that’s insane #UFCVegas14
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 15, 2020
Gilbert Burns is not the only one who was critical of the scoring
Rafael dos Anjos took control of the fight when he pushed Felder to the fence. He was efficient with the takedowns and even made attempts at submitting his opponent. On the other hand, the timing of Felder felt a bit off. Perhaps a fully dedicated camp would’ve given him a much better chance to defeat the Brazilian.
All in all, there was no doubt regarding the winner of the fight. Therefore, the scorecard of Chris Lee left a number of fighters puzzled, not just Gilbert Burns.
Do judges get drug tested
— Baldy Ed (@brianboom135) November 15, 2020
As I said before, MMA scoring system needs to evolve . It’s too subjective . Fighters risk too much to have someone not get it right !
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 15, 2020
— Lauren Murphy (@LaurenMurphyMMA) November 15, 2020
The scorecard has once stirred a discussion on if there is a need for the scoring system to be modified. One possible change that has suggested is that the judges can be asked to label some factors based on which they have scored a round in favor of someone. This way they can be held more accountable as compared to evaluating the rounds on a purely statistical basis.
READ MORE: “Darkest Nights of My Life”- Paul Felder Opens up on Brutal Weight Cut for RDA Fight