10 Most Controversial Judges’ Decisions In UFC History

Highlights

• Judges often make controversial decisions in MMA, leading to debate over winners like in Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick.
• Even legends like Jon Jones have faced close calls, as seen in his fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.
• Not every split-decision win is a robbery, as proven by ‘Triple C’ Cejudo’s victory over Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227.

There are three different ways to win an MMA fight. The stoppage, submission, or winning on the scorecards is thanks to the judge’s decision. The issue is, however, that the judges don’t always get it right no matter how hard they try. Across the long history of MMA and the UFC, there have been some absolutely horrific decisions and results.

Now, not all of these ten fights are a “robbery” per se. However, these ten results were all incredibly controversial thanks to the call that the judges made. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if you’re a champion or a debuting fighter, the judges will make a controversial call regardless.

10 UFC Vegas 32: Maycee Barber def. Miranda Maverick

This Forgotten Result Is One Of The Worst Ever

UFC Vegas 32 in the summer of 2021 featured two women’s flyweight prospects. Both Maycee Barber and Miranda Maverick seem to have championship potential, but it was the latter who largely dominated this three-round bout.

Somehow, ‘The Future’ emerged with a split-decision victory after 15 minutes of action. While this isn’t a perfect way to determine if a fight is controversial, MMADecisions found that 22 out of 22 media members scored the fight for Maverick.

9 UFC 251: Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway

Many Believe ‘Blessed’ Deserved At Least One Win In This Series

The trilogy between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway was phenomenal, and it’s incredible that ‘Blessed’ didn’t get a win on paper. However, the Hawaiian did get very, very close to defeating ‘The Great’ in July 2020.

Holloway started out fast, dropping the Australian in the first two rounds of the contest. However, after two rounds of domination, Volkanovski rallied and ultimately earned a split-decision win. This was the closest fight of the series by far.

8 UFC 280: Sean O’Malley def. Petr Yan

This Win Catapulted ‘Sugar’ To Superstardom

At UFC 280 in October 2022, Sean O’Malley finally stepped up in competition and faced former champion Petr Yan. ‘No Mercy’ was fresh off his two-fight series with Aljamain Sterling, and was hungry to get back to the title.

Both men had big moments here, with both getting rocked at various points. Still, it was O’Malley who emerged with a split-decision win after three rounds of action. However, many, many fans felt that Yan deserved the nod.

7 UFC 282: Paddy Pimblett def. Jared Gordon

‘The Baddy’ Stayed Undefeated In The UFC With This Decision

Paddy Pimblett is one of the UFC’s biggest young stars, but his rise hasn’t been perfect. It seems that ‘The Baddy’ lost a lot of his momentum after his December 2022 clash with Jared Gordon. The two were put in the co-main event of UFC 282, a sign of how Pimblett’s star power was rising.

However, that night, ‘Flash’ stifled the British fighter. Gordon largely controlled the contest, but Pimblett still emerged with a shocking unanimous decision win. In case you’re curious, 23 of 24 media members thought the Brit lost the bout according to MMADecisions.

6 UFC 195: Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit

‘Ruthless’ Kept His Title By Split-Decision

Robbie Lawler’s welterweight title reign was one of the most fun championship reigns in MMA history. ‘Ruthless’ put on banger after banger, and his early 2016 meeting with Carlos Condit was no different.

For five rounds, these two went back and forth. Ultimately, it was Lawler who retained his title by split decision, but it didn’t come without controversy. While the champion came on late, many felt that Condit should’ve won the gold here.

5 UFC 104: Lyoto Machida def. Shogun Rua

Many Felt That Rua Was Badly Robbed Here

This an old one, but it’s controversial nonetheless. In 2009, Lyoto Machida was early in his title reign, and he met former PRIDE tournament winner Shogun Rua. On paper, this was going to be a striker’s delight and a fun fight for fans.

However, the night was a bit of a rough one after everything was said and done. Many felt that Rua deserved the nod, and all media members scored the fight for him. Still, it was Machida who retained the title by unanimous decision.

4 UFC 150: Benson Henderson def. Frankie Edgar

This Was One Of Many Controversial Wins For ‘Bendo’

While not discussed much today, Benson Henderson probably had the most controversial results in a single career. Due to his fighting style, the former lightweight champion just had a close fight over close fight up until the end.

However, his split-decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 is by far his most controversial. While ‘The Answer’ largely dictated the action and pace, it was Henderson who still emerged with a win after five rounds.

3 UFC 227: Henry Cejudo def. Demetrious Johnson

‘Triple C’ Finally Ended The Long Reign Of ‘Mighty Mouse’

There seems to be a misconception that in order to become the champion, you have to definitively beat the champion. However, Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo is proof that this is not the case. The flyweight title was on the line in a back-and-forth contest, that went all five rounds.

Ultimately, it was ‘Triple C’ who emerged with a split-decision victory. Unlike other fights on this list, this one was a straight-up toss-up, and far from a robbery. Both men had major claims to a win.

2 UFC 247: Jon Jones def. Dominick Reyes

‘Bones’ Had His Closest Fight In February 2020

Jon Jones has had a few close fights in his career, but nobody has come closer to beating him than Dominick Reyes. ‘The Devastator’ entered the octagon as a massive underdog but took the fight to the champion early.

While Reyes largely dominated the first two rounds, Jones made a big push in the final three rounds. ‘Bones’ wound up retaining his title by unanimous decision here, in one of the most shocking judges’ decisions ever.

1 UFC 167: Georges St-Pierre def. Johny Hendricks

‘Rush’ Retained His Title In A Major Shock

Georges St-Pierre was dominant heading into UFC 167 in November 2013. There, the longtime welterweight champion met the fastly rising Johny Hendricks. On paper, ‘Big Rigg’ had all the tools to give the Canadian trouble.

That’s exactly what Hendricks did, hurting St-Pierre various times in the contest. Still, the champion made a push in the championship rounds and it paid off. He retained his title by split decision, in a result that fans are still discussing a decade later.