Modestas Bukauskas has addressed the controversy surrounding his split decision win at UFC 315.
While UFC 315 featured significant moments like a new welterweight champion and a dominant flyweight queen, the undercard included a split decision that drew considerable criticism.
In a light heavyweight bout, former Cage Warriors Champion Modestas Bukauskas faced UFC veteran Ion Cutelaba. The fight went the distance, with neither fighter securing a finish within 15 minutes.
Although Cutelaba threw significantly more strikes, Bukauskas argued he landed the more impactful blows during exchanges.
The fight went to the judges` scorecards, resulting in a split decision victory for Bukauskas. The official scores were 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Bukauskas, with the third judge scoring 28-29 for Cutelaba.
The decision was immediately met with backlash. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier strongly criticized the scorecards, calling them `trash,` a sentiment echoed by many fans online who felt Cutelaba was `robbed,` particularly believing he won the initial rounds.
Modestas Bukauskas replies to ‘robbery’ claims
Daniel Cormier reiterated his view that it was a `bad decision,` a sentiment shared by fellow commentator Dominick Cruz, who even suggested highlighting the judge who scored it 30-27 for Bukauskas.
A few days following the event, Bukauskas responded to the criticism from commentators and fans via social media.
Taking to Instagram, Bukauskas responded to the accusations:
“Robbery?” Bukauskas wrote. “It may not have been my best performance. But I still feel I WON that fight.
“We had some great exchanges, and I definitely landed more cleanly.
“Whatever the opinion, it was a good fight between 2 high level competitors. Onwards we go. Gonna learn, improve, get better and perform better next time.”
UFC 315 judge also had Aiemann Zahabi winning against Jose Aldo
Another contentious split decision on the card saw Aiemann Zahabi defeat former champion Jose Aldo.
Aldo appeared to have a strong start in the first round and a competitive second, where he was outlanded by Zahabi by a narrow margin. In the third round, Aldo scored two knockdowns and nearly secured a knockout, but Zahabi recovered and threatened with a late submission attempt on the ground.
Notably, the same judge, Pasquale Procopio, who scored the Bukauskas fight 30-27, scored rounds 2 and 3 for Zahabi in the fight against Aldo.
Fan polls on sites like MMA Decisions indicated that over 75% of fans disagreed with the official results for both the Aldo vs. Zahabi and Cutelaba vs. Bukauskas bouts.
Jack Thornley