Fakhretdinov vs. Leal Judges' Scorecards Revealed as Fans Slam UFC 308 Decision

UFC 308 got off to a buzzy start with the opening match on the preliminary card between Rinat Fakhretdinov and Carlos Leal generating controversy because of how the judges scored the bout.

Fakhretdinov was awarded the victory via unanimous decision, with one of the judges scoring all three rounds for the Russian fighter.

The consensus opinion among fans and analysts was this scoring was a joke and that Leal clearly won the fight.

UFC's official stat tracking had Leal landing four more significant strikes in the first two rounds, and doubling Fakhretdinov in total strikes landed in the opening round (56 to 28). The one advantage for Fakhretdinov in the first round was a takedown, but Leal was never in danger and got right back up.

The media scorecards for the fight were also unanimous, but they had Leal winning the bout. Eleven of the 16 media members who scored the bout gave all three rounds to the Brazilian fighter.

Ryan Frederick of F4WOnline.com wrote that Leal deserved the win and it was "one of the worst decisions in UFC history."

Leal made his UFC debut on Saturday. He had a 21-5 career record prior to this bout with 11 of his wins coming by knockout or TKO, with each of his last two victories coming in the first round.

Fakhretdinov improved his record to 23-1-1 in 25 career bouts. The 33-year-old has rebounded with back-to-back wins since a majority draw against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in November 2023.

It will be interesting to see how UFC president Dana White responds to this controversial decision. He hasn't been afraid to call out bad judging in the past, including three weeks ago after UFC 307 when he described it as "atrocious."

There's nothing White can do to overturn the decision, but he could put Leal and Fakhretdinov in a rematch that will hopefully avoid this type of judging controversy.