Few things infuriate MMA fans more than the fact that the match was marked incorrectly, although the term “robbery” is usually used carelessly and is often biased. With the Robbery Review we will look back at controversial battles and determine whether the judges were properly criticized for their decision or whether the experts should study their own reactions on their knees.
Valentina Shevchenko will definitely remember the lucky number 7.
Luck rarely took part in Shevchenko’s historic performance as a flyweight champion, but to record his seventh consecutive successful title defense, she had to sweat in the scorecards after contender Tayla Santos nearly faced a stunning disorder. UFC 275’s main event last Saturday. In the end, Shevchenko won with a decision that some of the MMA community did not like.
Former two-division champion Henry Sehudo was particularly confused by Shevchenko’s 49-46 score, and flyweight contender Casey O’Neill went so far as to say that the judge who issued the score should be fired.
Several other fighters disagree that Shevchenko received a separate nod:
I had 3-2 for Santos, but it was still a great match! # UFC275
– Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) June 12, 2022
Obviously, if you almost finish the leg fight, you’re obviously winning the round. If you almost finish the battle on the ground, it probably doesn’t do anything. Shevchenko is an excellent fighter, but he was critical of the mistakes tonight and I thought she lost tonight.
– Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 12, 2022
At a post-UFC 275 press conference, Shevchenko praised Santos, calling the provocative fight “exactly what I wanted.” She was also confident that the judges would mark the battle in her favor.
“I worked until the last second of the battle to win my victory, to raise my hands,” Shevchenko said. “When it comes to judges, you never know, but if you make everything you have and leave your heart and soul in battle, you will be proud of yourself, no matter what.
“Nothing surprised me. I really had no position, even when she was on her back, I didn’t feel in trouble. Like oh my god, it’s tight and you have to work on your character. No there was not. Moreover, she was somehow inactive. Even when I was in this position, I was hitting and I felt the force of the blows and I felt how she reacted because it hurt her. This is the most important thing in mixed martial arts. Too bad. “
Unlike many fighters and fans (and some media representatives), Shevchenko at least understands the most basic principle of the evaluation criteria. The question is whether it was applied correctly in this case or should we talk about the fact that Santos has managed to make one of the biggest disorders in the history of MMA at the moment?
Let’s go to the lab.
What was the official result?
Valentina Shevchenko def. Taila Santos with a separate decision.
How was the battle?
The first three rounds are the source of the points dispute, especially Round 2, which I considered a live swing round. So let’s focus mainly on the first 15 minutes.
Shevchenko started by throwing a few shots from a distance that took Santos out of range for a clean counter right hook. This definitely caught Santos’ attention, and she seemed to calm down instead of forcing the action. Shevchenko avoided an attack by Santos, using a body block to lead the challenger to the fence. She kept her there for more than a minute before going for a throw, which Santos blocked, which led to Santos winning the fight and immediately returning Shevchenko’s back with about 1:40 to work. Santos suffocated, but Shevchenko’s defense was in place.
The contestant moved to place a hand on Shevchenko’s mouth and nose to restrict her breathing, which allowed her to attack her neck with her free hand. However, Shevchenko remained far from danger. She also began throwing punches over her shoulder, which bothered Santos, even if they didn’t seem to be doing much damage. Santos had a locked body triangle and really wanted to be strangled, but Shevchenko defended himself until a buzzer sounded in the first round.
Santos was patient, coming out again for round 2, avoiding some screaming attempts to hit Shevchenko, except to be cut from the right left. Shevchenko missed on the right and Santos took the opportunity to clinch and bend over one leg. Santos is working to achieve a smooth, time-consuming journey by settling into Shevchenko’s guard. This is not a neutral position for Shevchenko, as she threw blows from below while keeping her legs busy. Santos struggled to create any kind of separation. He had a brief experience of Shevchenko’s gogoplata, which went nowhere, but it was definitely fun to think. Santos was unlucky enough to sneak in some powerful blows around Shevchenko’s defense. Referee Jason Herzog decided to face them with about 90 seconds left in the second round.
A moment later, they returned to the ground with a kind throw of Shevchenko’s head and hand, but Santos showed his incredible skills and agility by exploding from the mat and regaining his leading position in Shevchenko’s guard. No fighter does much as another round ends.
Two strange moments stand out in the third, one that had no effect on the battle and one that completely changed his complexion. First, Santos came out without his mouthpiece, a funny mistake that was quickly corrected; second, in the middle of the round, Santos threw himself to catch himself and the right side of her head hit Shevchenko’s head. This accidental collision proved costly later, but led to a strong body block for Santos. She took her back again and aggressively attacked Shevchenko’s defense, perhaps getting closer to suffocation than in Round 1. We head to fourth with a very questionable result.
At the beginning of Round 4, the swelling of Santos’ head from the collision looked as if she was having trouble seeing from her right eye. It is worth noting that Shevchenko separated Santos in the standings in round 3 and this was transferred to the championship rounds. Santos made a low shot, which led to a pause in the action, but unfortunately not before a high shot. Round 4 took place mostly on his feet, with Shevchenko scoring with straight punches and kicks to the body, but Santos actually hung there, fighting with one eye. She even got a takedown and a little ground and pound to end the round.
Round 5 was Shevchenko’s harvest. She escaped from an early betek from Santos, returned the battle to her feet, where she won the battle, and then finally took a takedown, which actually led to prolonged control from above. The champion came out of the battle from there.
What did the judges say?
Howard Hughes scored 48-47 Shevchenko.
David Lettaby scored 48-47 Santos.
Clemens Werner scored 49-46 Shevchenko.
All three judges agreed that Shevchenko won the championship rounds and that Santos won the third round, but the first two rounds were contested. Hughes and Lettabi gave Santos 1 round, while Hughes and Werner gave Shevchenko round 2. Werner scored only the third round for Santos.
What did the numbers say?
(UFC Statistics)
I don’t imagine that statistics will change anyone’s mind compared to their own initial eye tests.
Shevchenko had the overall advantage with significant hits of 77-55, winning each round in this category (10-5, 7-4, 17-7, 29-28, 14-11). On the other hand, Santos had significantly more control time at 8:49 compared to Shevchenko 4:15. During his time on the field, Santos received just six total strikes against Shevchenko’s five. Santos also had three attempts to pass, two in round 1.
The download category is actually even three, but keep in mind that there are no statistics on wins won, which Santos did at least twice. Santos has two twists in the official statistics, but that doesn’t count Shevchenko’s accumulation in one round and his dominance.
Keep in mind that statistics are strange and in the fight against so many nuances, they are not something to rely on if you bring home. More on that later.
What did the media say?
The media strongly agrees with the official result according to MMA decisions, with three media even mentioning it as Werner, 49-46. Sixteen others had 48-47 Shevchenko, while eight had it for Santos.
What did the people say?
(Data from MMA decisions and MMA sentences)
Fans of MMA decisions are divided in the middle, with 48-47 Santos currently leading the group with 42.6 percent and 48-47 Shevchenko right there with 42.4 percent. Shevchenko actually has a slight advantage if you add 49-46 votes, which come with 8.9 percent.
Rounds 1, 3, 4 and 5 were without controversy, with their respective winners (Santos 1 and 3, Shevchenko 4 and 5) winning at least 80 percent of the vote. This controversial second round goes to Santos with 59.9 percent.
Voters in the Verdict MMA app actually had a pretty good reading of the battle, as Shevchenko eventually won by a small margin.
This scoring system takes the cumulative amount of each fan score submitted (filtering out abnormal scores as random 10-7 if they make up less than one percent of the total) in each round and divides the amount of scores submitted to determine the winner of each round, and also in total.
Yes, Santos took the first three rounds, but Shevchenko’s superiority in the 4th and 5th rounds actually brought her a 22-point victory. So, depending on how you look at it, the voters of the sentence agreed with the judges, but also not?
In the MMA Fighting poll, which wants only a winner, not results, Shevchenko had an advantage of 58.9 percent.
How did I score it?
I had it 48-47 Shevchenko at first sight and actually swing more to 49-46 …
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