Judges Gonna Judge: Was A.J. McKee’s work against Patricio ‘Pitbull’ overlooked at Bellator 277?

Our MMA Junkie judging panel takes a closer look at the scorecards in the rematch between A.J. McKee and Patricio Freire.

Welcome to “Judges Gonna Judge,” where our MMA Junkie staff panel revisits the most controversial decision that occurred over the weekend.

This week, we look at the featherweight title fight between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] at Bellator 277. The rematch between these two headlined the event Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and caused quite the stir after the official scores were read.

After 25 minutes of action, “Pitbull” was declared the winner on the judges’ scorecards, much to the surprise of McKee, who appeared to genuinely believe he won unanimously.

Official judges Derek Cleary and Ron McCarty turned in scores of 48-47 in favor of “Pitbull,” although they differed on who won the third and fourth rounds. Judge Michael Bell submitted a score of 49-46, scoring only the final round in favor of now-former champion McKee.

MMA Junkie’s Matthew Wells, Nolan King, and Danny Segura put on their judging hats and break the fight down by each round.