MMA in 2014: The Worst Robberies
It was a long, crazy year of fights in mixed marital arts. Simply put, 2014 was busy and had no shortage of decisions left in the hands of the judges.
Most of the time, the judges got it right. However, like we've seen in so many cases, the judges got it wrong and caused controversy throughout the MMA world.
That is what we call a robbery.
In 2014, what were the five biggest robberies the judges handed out? Let's take a look back and see what the most controversial calls of the year were.
5. Andrei Arlovski Def. Brendan Schaub
1 of 5
Event: UFC 174
Judges for Arlovski: Sal D'Amato, David Therien
Judges for Schaub: Tony Weeks
Fans will likely remember Andrei Arlovski's 2014 for his surprisingly quick knockout of Antonio Silva that got him back in the Top 15, but it was his previous performance and UFC return that had fans buzzing earlier in the year.
Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, made his return to the company at UFC 174, where he battled Brendan Schaub. That battle, however boring it was, became one of the biggest robberies of the year.
The match lacked a ton of action, but Schaub was clearly in control for at least two rounds. He grinded his way past Arlovski, but two judges begged to differ.
According to MMA Decisions, 13 out of 15 media members scoring the bout had Schaub winning, most of whom either had it 30-27 or 29-28 Schaub. The only two dissenters the site lists are CagePages.com, who scored it a draw, and Jesse Holland of MMAMania.com, who had it 29-28 for Arlovski.
Luckily for Arlovski, this robbery was overshadowed by his next UFC performance. For Schaub, it cost him a win in the Octagon.
4. Alan Patrick Def. John Makdessi
2 of 5
Event: UFC 169
Judges for Patrick: Ricardo Almeida, Sue Sanidad, Cardo Urso
Judges for Makdessi: none
Most robberies in MMA happen to be split decisions, which is when a fighter wins two of the three judges' scorecards. However, at UFC 169, a unanimous decision in a fight between John Makdessi and Alan Patrick led to one of the biggest robberies of the year.
In their fight, Patrick struggled with the quick, sturdy Makdessi, who warded off Patrick's attempts at grinding and counteracted with superior striking. It looked to be a pretty cut-and-dry decision, but it turned out the judges differed from most everyone else's opinion.
According to MMA Decisions, all 11 media members who recorded their scores disagreed that Patrick had won the fight. In fact, the closest thing Patrick got to a win was a draw, which was recorded by Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com. The other 10 media members had Makdessi in a clear-cut decision.
Funny how different people are in their opinions of fights, isn't it?
3. Ben Henderson Def. Josh Thomson
3 of 5
Event: UFC on Fox 10
Judges for Henderson: Sal D'Amato, Brian Puccillo
Judges for Thomson: Gabriel Sabaitis
I was present at the third-biggest robbery of the year, which took place in Chicago. It was a main event between Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson, and the decision had most media members present in the backstage area baffled.
Thomson warded off Henderson's attempts to make it an ugly fight for the most part and actually was winning rounds despite a broken hand. He overcame that obstacle, seemingly, and looked like he would pull off the biggest win of his UFC career.
Two of the judges didn't see it that way, though.
Of 16 media members that scored that bout on MMA Decisions, only three gave the bout to Henderson (MMAWeekly.com, MMAjunkie.com and Craig Amos of Bleacher Report). The others saw fit to give it to Thomson, most of whom scored it 48-47.
Some may not classify this as a robbery, but it most certainly was. Not only did Thomson get denied a keynote win over a former UFC champion, but it put him back in line of UFC title contention.
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2. Sean Strickland Def. Luke Barnatt
4 of 5
Event: UFC Fight Night 41
Judges for Strickland: Andy Haigh, Howard Hughes
Judges for Barnatt: Mark Collett
I did not catch the bout between Sean Strickland and Luke Barnatt in Germany. However, I did hear a lot about it that day and how awful of a decision the judges handed down.
MMA Decisions has a record of 11 media members giving their decisions on this fight, all of whom agreed Barnatt was the victor. However, two of the three judges present in Germany decreed Strickland the winner, much to the chagrin of most observers.
It is the unanimous agreement among the MMA commentators that makes this such a giant robbery. If every media member, plus most people I saw on Twitter that day, thought that Barnatt should have been the victor, how did the judges get it so wrong?
Uncle Dana was right: Never leave it in the hands of the judges.
1. Diego Sanchez Def. Ross Pearson
5 of 5
Event: UFC Fight Night 42
Judges for Sanchez: Jeff Collins, Chris Tellez
Judges for Pearson: Marcos Rosales
I don't think there was ever any question what the biggest robbery of the year was. If you said anything other than Diego Sanchez-Ross Pearson, you may need to get your head examined.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I even said, "If this goes to a decision, watch Sanchez steal another one. He does it every time no matter how badly he is outclassed."
It happened. The win sparked outrage throughout the community. Sanchez had been brutalized for three rounds by Pearson and had the marks on his body to prove it.
There were 14 media members who input scores, according to MMA Decisions, and all 14 had Pearson taking the decision. All but one of those media members had Pearson winning 30-27, showing how dominant he was from bell to bell.
If that wasn't bad enough, then look at the scorecard of judge Jeff Collins. He didn't give a single round to Pearson, scoring it 30-27 for Sanchez.
It is not only the biggest robbery of 2014, but one of the biggest robberies of all time.
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