Viewers of the UFC 245 pay-per-view heard the broadcast crew talking about how the three judges in the main event had the fight going into the final round.
Analysts Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, as well as play-by-play voice Jon Anik, seemed stunned to see the official scorecard that showed Kamaru Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) down three rounds to one from one judge against Colby Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) heading into the fifth frame.
Another judge had Usman up 3-1, and the third had the fight knotted at two rounds apiece. That means in all likelihood, had the welterweight title fight gone 50 more seconds, it was headed to a split decision. And that also means it’s possible Covington may have walked out of the cage as the 170-pound titleholder – despite what he said during the fight was a broken jaw, and despite his face a virtual horror show of blood and bruises from Usman’s fists.
But Usman took the pressure off the judges by knocking down Covington late twice. Then he pounded him out on the canvas for a TKO win in the grudge match.
So how did you have the fight scored heading to the last round? Weigh in below in our poll. And check out the official scorecard above.
