Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
UFC Fight Night 207 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas, and you can discuss the event here.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reported from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 207 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. You can discuss the event here.
“Why are their decisions so untouchable and are never overturned?”
Jackson Wink MMA, the home gym of former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag], doesn’t agree with her split decision loss to Ketlen Vieira and has let it be known.
Holm (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) was edged out by Vieira (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 206 main event, a decision that has sparked outrage and opinions on what the judges’ criteria for scoring actually is. All three judges agreed on the scoring of every round except the deciding third, which two judges gave to Vieira.
For that, Jackson Wink has issued a statement on Instagram calling for the judges to face consequences and questioning the validity of judging in general.
“Judges need to be held accountable for making mistakes, just like everyone else is held accountable, penalized, and punished for wrong doings,” Jackson Wink said. “… Judges are not above everyone else… Why are their decisions so untouchable and are never overturned? If this is not fixed, the legitimacy of this sport is at question! PS: What’s the point of counting strikes if they don’t mean anything and judges don’t even look at the stats. What do they go by?”
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The likes of Daniel Cormier and John McCarthy scored the fight in favor of Holm, who outstruck Vieira – but not by as much as was originally reported unofficially.
After scoring back-to-back wins over ranked contenders Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana, the loss to Vieira snapped Holm’s two-fight winning streak and seemingly thwarts the 40-year-old’s pre-fight aspirations of reclaiming the bantamweight title anytime soon.
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“I can understand why she believes she won the fight, but I don’t think it was a robbery.”
John McCarthy scored the UFC Fight Night 206 main event in favor of [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag], but he isn’t outraged by the decision going the other way.
Holm was edged out by [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag] this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a fight that she was adamant she won. The tightly contested battle sprung discussions on the issues of judging, causing the likes of Daniel Cormier to react strongly to the scoring criteria.
But while McCarthy, who helped write the unified rules, believes Holm (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) beat Vieira (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), he doesn’t think it was that bad of a call.
“I don’t know what she’s gonna do. I know she’s very upset, she believes she won that fight, and I can understand why she believes she won the fight, but I don’t think it was a robbery,” McCarthy said on his “Weighing In” podcast. “I don’t think it was the greatest performance by Ketlen Vieira, either, but you’ve got to look at all these elements and figure out where you’re at, and both have things that they’re gonna have to figure out. ‘I’ve gotta stop this from happening and if I don’t, it’s not gonna be good in my next matchup.'”
He continued, “I thought (Holm) won. I gave it to her 3-2. She won the first round. She lost the second and third, I believe. I think I gave her the fourth and the fifth.”
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The judges agreed on the scoring of every round except Round 3, which two judges gave to Vieira and one gave to Holm. Regardless of the outcome, McCarthy thinks ex-UFC bantamweight champion Holm has improved on her wrestling but is starting to slow down and absorb more shots than she normally does.
“She still has the same output as far as all that movement, and she moves a lot, and she’s got a lot of lateral movement. The one thing I saw that’s a difference is when she came in with her rushes and there was no snap in her shots,” McCarthy said. “It was more of the push and then her head was still centerline, and that’s why Ketlen was able to counter her the way she did and hit her with those right hands that she kept getting blasted by, and her head was right on the centerline. She never changed it, and it’s a difference in her fighting style. …
“She’s been phenomenal, but you can see that she is slowing down little bits, and those little bits make big differences because you got that center line, and there’s little movements left and right that allow something to glance and slide by, and you’ll see it, and you’ll do that movement, and that movement is just a fraction of a second slower than it was before and instead of it glancing and sliding by, it’s popping you, and that’s what’s happening now.”
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Often times a close fight is just a close fight free of actual controversy, and that’s what happened at UFC Fight Night 206.
The moment Ketlen Vieira was announced as the winner over [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 206, Twitter went off in disagreement, with the dreaded R-word being tossed around so casually, which seemingly has become a thing whenever there’s a close main event or title fight these days.
Even Holm suggested she was robbed after dropping a split decision by scores of 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. She didn’t use the R-word, but she also didn’t have to. She flat-out said “I thought I won the fight” and “I don’t feel like it was a question.”
It was a question, though. That’s how we ended up with Vieira declared the winner.
From this writer’s standpoint, Holm clearly won Rounds 1 and 5; Vieira Round 2. All three judges agreed.
It was Rounds 3 and 4 that were up in the air – close, both women had their moments. All three judges gave Round 4 to Vieira. The deciding round in the split decision was the third, with Mike Bell and Derek Cleary scoring 10-9 for Vieira, while Sal D’Amato went the other way for Holm.
In the aftermath of such a close fight, the “Holly Holm was robbed” crowd has pointed to the fight statistics to support their belief. One number in particular fueled the Twitter machine, all but suggesting Holm should’ve won. It was even grossly peddled by ESPN MMA’s account (see below): significant strikes.
Holm almost doubled Vieira in significant strikes at #UFCVegas55 👀 pic.twitter.com/GIsDK88CjB
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 22, 2022
You look at that chart, you see a 112-63 advantage for Holm, and you would think she dominated the fight. But does anyone who watched truly believe Holm’s performance was a display of domination? No. Because it wasn’t, not even statistically. Those ESPN numbers are WRONG because they’re based on an unofficial “live” feed. The actual number of significant strikes landed were significantly closer at 96-85, according to official numbers from UFCStats.com.
Also, I’m not sure who needs this reminder, but even if the significant strikes had been an almost 2-to-1 discrepancy, MMA fights aren’t judged in totality. It’s a round-by-round scoring system. Overall fight statistics easily can be misleading in the same way that physical damage can be misleading.
If you think a fight outcome was a robbery, it’s because you’re misinformed or there’s a misunderstanding or you don’t know the MMA judging criteria (here you go). More often than not, it wasn’t.
The bottom line, folks, is that Vieira-Holm was a close fight. And sometimes – no, often times, almost always – a close fight is just a close fight without a robbery taking place, free of controversy.
That’s all this was.
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Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,262, the guys went over Eagle FC 47 and UFC Fight Night 206. They also discussed UFC fighters trying comedy, and much more. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Michel Pereira sets sight on Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz following UFC Fight Night 206 win.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] wants Jorge Masvidal next, but it’s not just about getting a high-profile matchup.
The rising UFC welterweight contender called out the BMF champion as well as Nate Diaz following his most recent win inside the octagon. Pereira (28-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated seasoned veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio in a split decision in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 206. It was his fifth consecutive win inside the UFC, and a Fight of the Night bonus-worthy victory at that.
The Brazilian took aim at two of the biggest stars in the UFC immediately after his win.
“I really want to fight Nate Diaz because I think it’d be really fun to slap each other around,” Pereira told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 206 post-fight press conference. “I think it’d be a really fun fight. I think we’d put on a show for all the fans.
“And also, Jorge Masvidal because I have a little bit of a problem with him, and I want to settle it.”
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Pereira’s callout of Masvidal is more personal than the Diaz one. “Demolidor” claims Masvidal slid into his wife’s direct messages on Instagram and that hasn’t sat well with him.
“So he sent an emoji to my wife – the emoji with the two hands together like (praying),” Pereira explained. “He sent it to my wife and didn’t send it to me. And you know, I never actually crossed paths with him, never had the chance to ask him. So I figured, you know, I really want to understand, but might as well understand inside the octagon. So we’ll just settle it over there.”
Masvidal subsequently denied this accusation and took to social media to share the receipts (via Twitter):
How crazy a world and how far has society fallen that this idiot @UfcPereira would use his wife to hopefully 1 day get a paycheck and create a fake narrative to try and get a fight with me when clearly he sees she slid in my dm? Wishing you guys the best #marriagecounselor pic.twitter.com/M5MwwuH2Le
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) May 23, 2022
How crazy a world and how far has society fallen that this idiot @UfcPereira would use his wife to hopefully 1 day get a paycheck and create a fake narrative to try and get a fight with me when clearly he sees she slid in my dm? Wishing you guys the best #marriagecounselor
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 206, which saw six of 11 fights end in a finish including a shutout.
The UFC closed its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 206, which went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw six of 11 fights end in a finish.
The main event was among the bunch to go to the scorecards. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) edged former UFC champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) by split decision in the women’s bantamweight headliner, marking her second consecutive win over a former UFC champion.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 206.
Check out who took home an extra $50,000 for their performance at UFC Fight Night 206.
LAS VEGAS – Six of the 11 fights at the UFC Apex on Saturday evening resulted in early finishes, giving the UFC decision-makers plenty of choices when it came time to issue bonuses.
The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 206 between Michel Pereira and Santiago Ponzinibbio left a lasting impression as their three-round battle was the most intense of the evening. The fight turned into an all-out slugfest in the closing minutes, living up to the expectations for the contest between the two exciting welterweights. Naturally, their battle earned Fight of the Night honors.
The promotion also handed out two Performance of the Night bonuses, awarding a pair of fighters an extra $50,000 for their finishes.
Check out who all took home a bonus for their performance on Saturday.
Michel Pereira picked up the biggest win of his career, outlasting Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Fight Night 206.
[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] continues to build momentum.
The rising contender picked up arguably the biggest win of his career on Saturday night. Pereira (28-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag] in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 206 at the UFC Apeix in Las Vegas. The Brazilian defeated Ponzinibbio (28-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in a split decision that read 29-28, 30-27 and 28-29.
It was a closely contested bout with plenty of action.
Ponzinibbio looked to do the majority of the pressuring as he walked down Pereira. The Brazilian had success early with some good right hands but nothing that hurt Ponzinibbio. With a minute remaining in the first round, Pereira connected with a solid right hook that seemed to stun Ponzinibbio briefly. The fight continued with both guys looking to close out the round with a statement but were unable to land anything significant.
The second started with a much more different dynamic. Pereira came off the stool hot as he put a lot of pressure on Ponzinibbio. He landed a hard kick to the body that caught the attention of Ponzinibbio. From there, both fighters traded evenly on the feet, but Pereira seemed to land the bigger shots. With two minutes left, Ponzinibbio began to close the gap, landing a few good left hooks and jabs on Pereira. Ponzinibbio would continue to tag Pereira and then close out the round with a takedown.
At the start of Round 3, Pereira landed a hard right on Ponzinibbio, but that was immediately answered by a solid left from Ponzinibbio. Pereira looked to be slowing down, as Ponzinibbio began to bring up the intensity and output with the jab. Both fighters showed clear wear on their face as they traded hard shots. Ponzinibbio began to add leg kicks in his attack and was having success. The round ended with both fighters going toe-to-toe.
Gonna need some ice packs after this brawl 😬 #UFCVegas55 pic.twitter.com/fo0kMFiiOo
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 22, 2022
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With this result, Pereira is now on a five-fight winning streak. The Brazilian fighter has consecutive wins over Zelim Imadaev, Khaos Williams, Niko Price, Andre Fialho, and now Ponzinibbio. Pereira’s last defeat came against Diego Sanchez in early 2020 when he was disqualified due to an illegal knee.
Meanwhile, Ponzinibbio now has consecutive defeats for the first time in his 14-year professional career. The Argentine was coming off a split decision loss to Geoff Neal back in December at UFC 269. Since his return from a health scare in 2021, Ponzinibbio is now 1-3. The 35-year-old holds notable wins over Miguel Baeza, Mike Perry, Gunnar Nelson, Sean Strickland and Neil Magny.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 206 results:
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Now that he’s finally in the UFC, Chidi Njokuani isn’t messing around.
Now that he’s finally in the UFC, [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag] isn’t messing around.
Njokuani (22-7 MMA, 2-0 UFC) scored his third finish inside the octagon Saturday at UFC Fight Night 206 by demolishing [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag] with a brutal elbow to knock him out at the 4:48 mark of the first round.
Check out this violence (via Twitter):
An absolute HELLbow from Chidi Njokuani FTW. 😮 #UFCVegas55 pic.twitter.com/jYNldztzTU
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 22, 2022
Including his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, the elbow knockout marked Njokuani’s third consecutive stoppage in the octagon. It took him all of 16 seconds to TKO Marc-André Barriault in his UFC debut in February.
Njokuani, 33, spent three years in Bellator and made an LFA appearance before getting his UFC opportunity. He’s certainly made the most of it so far.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 206 results:
