Judges Gonna Judge: Was Mateusz Gamrot's grappling overvalued in UFC on ESPN 38 win vs. Arman Tsarukyan?
Our panel takes a closer look at the judging in the UFC on ESPN 38 main event.
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Welcome to “Judges Gonna Judge,” where our MMA Junkie staff panel revisits the most controversial decision that occurred over the weekend.
This week, we take another look at the UFC on ESPN 38 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a lightweight matchup between two first-time main eventers in Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan.
This high-octane battle thrilled from beginning to end as both fighters brought their best for the main stage. When the 25 minutes concluded, all three official judges scored the contest in favor of Gamrot.
However, the unofficial judges watching at home saw the fight differently. Out of 22 media scores submitted to MMA Decisions, a majority scored the fight for Tsarukyan. One media member scored every round in his favor while two only found one round to score for Gamrot.
Offiicial judges Sal D’Amato, Chris Lee and Ron McCarthy all saw the fight exactly the same, scoring the first two rounds for Tsarukyan and the final three for Gamrot, resulting in three 48-47 scores.
MMA Junkie’s Matthew Wells, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura put on their judging hats and break the fight down by each round.
If you need a refresher on the official scoring criteria before we dive in, you can check it out here.