Legendary MMA official “Big” John McCarthy said that he agrees with the judges who gave Sean Strickland the win at UFC 328.
Strickland earned a narrow split decision nod over Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328 to win the UFC middleweight title. It was an extremely close fight that came down to the fifth and final round. Two of the judges gave the challenger the last round, and he won a split decision on the scorecards 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47.
There were plenty of fans, fighters, and media who felt differently. However, UFC president Dana White said after the fight that he agreed with the judges’ scorecards. Another person whose opinion is valued when it comes to scoring fights is McCarthy, the legendary MMA official, who said the judges got it right.
John McCarthy Explains Why the Judges Got It Right
Speaking on the “Weighing In” podcast with UFC veteran Josh Thomson, McCarthy said that the judges did their job perfectly in giving Strickland the split decision nod, going into detail why that is the case.
“I did agree with the scoring. I thought it was done perfectly. It was obvious that Khamzat came out and won the first round easily… It’s a 10-9 round for Khamzat. Sean comes out (in the second), reverses it, and obviously it’s a 10-9 round for Sean. You get into the third and fourth, and they switch them back and forth. So, going into the fifth, I had it as the fight is up for grabs for whoever takes this round,” McCarthy said (via Bloody Elbow).
“It doesn’t matter if you’re going forward. Forward motion is nothing if there is not effective shots being landed. (Chimaev) touched him a couple of times, but nothing that was anything that bothered Sean in any way. The takedown, he gets the takedown, but what did he do? He rode the back and didn’t land any shots. It’s a positional change. I’ll give him credit for the takedown itself, but he did no damage before Sean got up. And then Sean ends up peppering you with that jab, lands the right hand a couple times, and he lands the most effective strikes by quite a considerable amount to win the round. I think Eric Colon and Sal D’Amato got it right. The right guy won.”
Khamzat Chimaev Wants a Rematch
On Tuesday, three days after he went to war with Strickland, Chimaev’s team issued a statement officially requesting a rematch with Strickland. Clearly, Team Chimaev felt like he did enough to earn the nod from the judges, or else they wouldn’t be asking for a rematch. Whether the UFC grants Chimaev the rematch with Strickland is the question.
Typically, champions who never defend their title don’t get an automatic rematch. But because this was such a close fight, and because fans and media were so invested in it, there is a chance Chimaev bucks the trend and gets the rematch he wants. But if you ask White and McCarthy, there is no need for one, because the right man had his hand raised that night.
‘Big’ John McCarthy Agrees With Judges That Sean Strickland Won