There are many times when top UFC matches go the distance and the decision is left up to the judges. A large number of these decisions have left fans shaking their heads when their pick to win the bout isn't declared the winner. With such a rich history, there are plenty of judges' decisions that can be questioned, but we've rounded up what we consider the top five greatest robberies in the UFC.
"The Natural" is a UFC legend and has won more than his share of his fights, and coming into UFC 105 he was the favorite before the fight even began. Brandon Vera had less than 15 professional fights to his name and his resume paled in comparison to Couture.
On the scorecard, Vega appeared to dominate the first round by landing the most strikes while Randy Couture looked lost in the octagon. As the fight wore on, Vega would land more strikes and even score a dominating knockdown of Couture in the second, but Vega couldn't knockout "The Natural" or force him to submit before the fight ended. Maybe his reputation gained him some sympathy because the judges declared that Couture had outfought the upstart, robbing Vega of a victory over an MMA legend.
The UFC TUF series is an exciting platform to watch the future of the sport, and many talented fighters have participated in the program. However, it may not necessarily employ the most experienced judges as was evidenced in the TUF 12 finals match which pitted up-and-coming athletes Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia.
Garcia's style in the match can only be categorized as throw as many punches and kicks as possible, regardless of whether they land or not. Phan kept his composure and was able to avoid any significant hits as Garcia's wild strikes rarely made contact. Phan was able to take down Garcia numerous times and clearly won most back-and-forth exchanges.
In the end, the judges granted Leonard Garcia the victory. Although we're not sure what criteria was used in their decision, even Dana White objected to the outcome of the match granting Phan and instant rematch at UFC 136 which saw Nam Phan overcome Garcia by judges decision.
GSP is considered one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, and he has the wins and title history to back up that assessment. However, at UFC 167 he was lucky to walk away with his welterweight championship.
Johny Hendricks' reputation would diminish over the years after this fight, but leading up to UFC 167 the "Big Rig" was known for his one-punch knockout potential. Right from the opening bell Hendricks went after the champion and dominated early. While St. Pierre had his moments, he was on the defensive for most of the bout. In the end, GSP was dejected and appeared resigned to losing his title until the judges announced a split decision in his favor. Who knows what Johny Hendricks' future would have looked like if he could have added a title defeat of GSP to his record.
Machida is one of the most accomplished karate experts ever to fight in the UFC and began his title reign with a KO against Rashad Evans at UFC 98. Many fans christened that as the start of the "Machida Era," and Lyoto was set to start the era off with his first title defense against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
"Shogun" had different ideas once the bell rang and took the fight to the champ. Lyoto was forced to deal with Brazilian's style of keeping the fight centered and couldn't get into any kind of rhythm. Rua appeared to land the most blows and dominate the strike count, but the judges apparently saw something different as Machida was awarded the decision.
It wouldn't take long for the "Shogun" to end the Machida era as Mauricio Rua took Lyoto's belt soon after at UFC 113.
Very few UFC bouts have seen the winner so under matched throughout the fight as during Ross Pearson's bout with Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 42.
Pearson set the tone from the opening bell and Diego Sanchez flailed wildly to gain control during every round. By a statistical account, Pearson dominated but just couldn't knockout Diego Sanchez. Once the final bell rang all UFC fans in the building and those watching worldwide knew that Pearson had won the match. There was absolutely no question. However, the judges had another idea as they defied statistical analysis and awarded Diego Sanchez the victory via decision.
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