UFC 127 Results: 5 Reasons Jon Fitch Should Have Received the Decision
The UFC Welterweight division got even more confusing following the draw between Jon Fitch and BJ Penn at UFC 127.
The main event was a very interesting stylistic matchup and largely lived up to the hype as both fighters landed some big shots and each looked like he may be close to finishing the fight on numerous occasions.
If someone had simply read that description alone for this fight, it would be understandable for it to be scored a draw. But the fight wasn’t as close as that description. On a night when judging was called into question early in the undercard, unfortunately, things didn’t get much better in the main event.
Before I go any further, I should explain that BJ Penn is not only one of my favorite fighters—he is my favorite fighter of all-time.
But even as a fan of Penn’s, I can admit that the judging in this fight was absolutely terrible. Fitch was robbed and these are five reasons why he should have been given the decision.
5. Scored More Takedowns and Did More with Them
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BJ Penn is often credited with having some of the greatest takedown defense skills in the history of mixed martial arts.
Jon Fitch didn’t care.
While BJ was able to stay on his feet for a lot of the fight and even surprised us with a couple of takedowns of his own, it didn’t matter. Fitch simply had the advantage in the takedown game as almost everyone expected that he would.
Fitch scored a total of four takedowns in the fight to Penn’s two.
Though BJ was able to take Fitch’s back twice, it almost seemed as if it was by design as Fitch was able to transition and get back on top of Penn on both occasions.
Fitch did seem to have trouble doing much in the first round, but made up for it in the third round with one of the most one-sided beatdowns we have ever seen given to Penn.
4. Kept Up the Pace
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A lot of fans seem to be under the belief that Jon Fitch goes into every fight with the intention of simply winning the first round and then grinding out a decision in the second and third rounds. They believe that he doesn’t attempt to finish fights nearly enough.
Fitch kept up the pace from the first round and carried it all the way through the third round, using his tremendous work ethic and conditioning to stay on top of Penn and not allow him to load up for any of his devastating punches. In fact, Fitch landed a few nice shots in the stand-up game, himself.
Penn actually looked to be in better condition than he sometimes is for fights at welterweight, but Fitch's action was on a whole different level as he didn't give Penn a second to gain his composure during the bout.
3. Inflicted Way More Damage Throughout the Fight
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BJ Penn fans like myself have long talked about the lack of damage Penn takes in his fights, even in his losses. But tonight was a completely different story.
Jon Fitch is generally considered a grinding wrestler but what he did tonight, particularly in the third round, was pure ground-and-pound dominance.
While he didn’t really try too hard to “finish” the fight, the damage he inflicted on Penn was perhaps the worst we’ve ever seen him take. After the beating he took in the third round, Penn’s corner had to help him keep his head up as he walked over to the corner to receive attention from the medical staff.
The right side of Penn’s face looked awful while they announced the decision and it may have been the worst we’ve ever seen his face look after a fight, even worse than what he looked like after his five-round fight with Georges St. Pierre.
Penn himself landed a few nice shots throughout the fight and even cut Fitch open, but the pure number of shots landed wasn’t even close.
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2. Completely Dominated the Third Round
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The FightMetric statistics from this fight tell the story about as obviously as it can be described, particularly in the third round.
While BJ Penn landed just two total strikes in the third round, Jon Fitch landed a ridiculous 149, turning Penn’s face into something that resembled hamburger in the process.
Simply put, Penn did absolutely nothing but survive in the third round and the round could have very well been scored 10-8 in favor of Fitch. In fact, the judge who actually scored the fight a draw saw it this way while the other two judges gave the round 10-9 to Fitch.
1. Even BJ Penn Admitted That He Thought He Lost
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If this doesn’t say it, I don’t know what else will. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, BJ Penn himself said that he thought he lost the fight.
Penn is often considered a “whiner” by people who dislike him as he has been known to complain about his losses, particularly the two he suffered at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. But tonight, Penn seemed content to take a loss—and the judges should have obliged.
It’s almost as if there is some built-in hatred for Jon Fitch by some of the MMA community that somehow rubbed off on the judges in this fight.
The judge who scored this bout for Penn should really have his license stripped or at least his vision checked. Sure, Penn won the first round; but the second round was very debatable and the third round wasn’t even close.
What, exactly, would it take for a fighter to receive a 10-8 round from this judge? Would Penn have had to be scraped off the ground like a pancake after the round and placed on a stretcher? What more could Fitch have realistically done in that round?
The bad judging in MMA continued tonight and Fitch was the man who paid the price.
Of course, the old adage is that if you want to win, you keep it out of the judges’ hands—but sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially when you’re fighting a world-class Jiu-Jitsu expert like BJ Penn.
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