Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, questioned the judges’ scorecards at UFC 331.
In the main event of UFC 331, UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision.
While most fans and media agree that Van won the fight, the scorecards were questionable, with judge Ron McCarthy — the son of legendary MMA official “Big” John McCarthy — scoring the bout 50-45 in favor of Van, a scorecard that most, including Foster, believe was wide.
See the official UFC 331 scorecards for the main event below.
Complete Main Card Results ➡️ t.co/6GSVkvH0f4
Complete Scorecards ➡️ t.co/2L2Ig3cENB
Andy Foster Questions UFC 331 Scorecards
Speaking to the media at the California Athletic Commission debrief following UFC 331, Foster openly questioned McCarthy’s 50-45 Van scorecard.
“Andy Foster opened the meeting by calling Ron McCarthy’s 50-45 scorecard in the main event “not possible”, particularly scoring Round 4 for Van. He said that it took him some time to calm down about it before coming to start the meeting,” wrote Sportsnet MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter on X.
He said that it took him some time to calm down about it before coming to start the meeting.
“Foster felt that the judging should have deferred to the secondary criteria and value the control because there was not a lot of significant offence from either fighter.”
“Foster says that he got a lot of angry text messages regarding the 50-45 scorecard. Most tended to agree that Van was up prior to the takedown, but felt Pantoja won the round overall.”
Most tended to agree that Van was up prior to the takedown, but felt Pantoja won the round overall.
Judges Defend Questionable Scorecards
Judge McCarthy was given the chance to defend his scorecard, and this is what he said in response to Foster’s criticism.
“McCarthy explains that he had Van ahead when Pantoja scored the takedown, where he felt Pantoja didn’t land any damage, strictly control and he felt that Van did more from bottom. He says that he plans to rewatch it.”
He says that he plans to rewatch it.
Additionally, Judge Sal D’Amato explained his 49-46 Van scorecard, which some also believed was somewhat wide.
“Sal D’Amato had the round scored for Pantoja, but felt that McCarthy’s score was not crazy because he also felt that Van got the better of Pantoja on the feet. He says that he had Van up on the scorecards prior to the takedown, but felt the effective grappling tipped it over.”
He says that he had Van up on the scorecards prior to the takedown, but felt the effective grappling tipped it over:
It’s great to see that in California, there is this open forum between the commission, the judges, and the media, where the curtain is pulled back on why certain decisions were rendered.
We need more of this in the sport, even if you don’t agree with the judges’ decision.
Hopefully, this begins a trend of other states allowing this sort of open talk between all parties, as it is good to see what the commission thinks proper scorecards are, and also why the judges saw certain fights the way that they did.
In the case of Van vs. Pantoja 2, it did feel like it was a closer fight between the two combatants. When looking at the official scorecards, the 48-47 Van scorecard from Judge Derek Cleary appears to be the one that was the most accurate of the three, and that’s the one that Foster didn’t question from the judges.
CSAC’s Andy Foster Questions Judges’ Scorecards at UFC 331