blogkick: Top 5 worst decisions in MMA history
Top 5 Worst Decisions In MMA history:
5. Hatsu Hioki Vs Michihiro Omigawa Sengoku 11
For the most part Sengoku fly’s under the radar in the mind of the casual fan, but that does not mean they don’t have their fair share of ghastly decisions. At sengoku 11 Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa fought a hard 15 minute battle. The fight wasn’t completely one sided But Omigawa landed takedowns in all three rounds, held dominate positions in two out of three rounds, and out struck Hioki in the first two rounds. Hiokis only significant damage was in the final round where he out boxed Omigawa but still got taken down and held down in the latter parts of the round.
Hioki walks away with a split decision win, robbing a sure victory from one of japans top featherweights in Michihiro Omigawa.
4. Lyoto Machida Vs Mauricio Shogun Rua I
Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Shogun met at UFC 104 for the title and the Lyoto’s victory was anything but decisive.
The fight was nowhere near one sided but at the end of the night the victor was clear when a bruised and battered Machida limped around the octagon awaiting to get called for the judge’s decision. Shogun repeatedly landed hard body kicks and leg kicks that affected Machida throughout every round. Machida was clearly the more damaged fighter and almost all fight simulations counted more significant strikes landed in shoguns favor. When the final verdict was called it was clear the fight was a sham. the boos from the crowd and disapproval of Dana White set the two up for a rematch at UFC 113 where Shogun Rua didn’t give anybody the opportunity to steal the victory by knocking Machida out in the first round.
3. Quinton Rampage Jackson Vs Maurillo Rua, Pride 29
Back when Japanese MMA was at its peak, the organization Pride FC put on some great fights. One of those fights was Quinton Rampage Jackson Vs Maruillo Ninja Rua. The fight was very close but Ninja clearly deserved the nod. The first two rounds were very close but Ninja took both rounds due to significant striking, and many submission attempts. The third round was very close but Ninja once again edged Jackson with two takedowns and significant strikes. With the Pride style of judging Maurillo was clearly the victor due to more aggression, more significant strikes landed, more sub attempts, and more takedowns. But the judges didn’t see it that way as Rampage took home the split decision victory.
2. Jake Shields vs Martin Kampman
Before Brock Lesnar got his faced smashed in by Cain Velasquez, everyone was awaiting the Shields vs. Kampmann fight. Jake Shields was making his UFC debut and his performance was less than spectacular. The first round starts off with Shields scoring a takedown and moving into the mount before getting bucked off to a uneventful end of the round against the fence in the clinch. The 2nd round shields presses the action but gets his TD attempts stuffed by Kampmann. Then Shields goes in for another TD attempt before getting rocked hard in the face by a knee. Kampmann follows Shields to the ground and ends up on bottom, shields passes and gets full mount but gets bucked almost immediately. Big John separates them and Kampmann lands a big right hand to end the round. Round 3 is almost all Kampmann, he stuffs all of shields take downs and lands many significant strikes in the process. Kampman stuffs a takedown and tries to work a choke as Shields scrambles and shields is able to regain top position before the round ends. Anybody watching this fight realized that Kampmann was more aggressive, did more damage, and went for the finish a lot more then shields, who only landed two takedowns and worked almost no sub attempts. But for some odd reason Jake Shields gains the victory via split decision.
- 1. Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia
When making this list I had no doubt in my mind who was going to be number 1, and Im pretty sure if your reading this you had a hunch that this abomination of decision making was going to top my list. Yes TUF 12 finale where Nam Phan gets absolutely robbed of a three round unanimous decision in his octagon debut. The first round was a little tentative but as the round went on Phan was clearly the more technical & powerful striker. He was landing more shots as the round went on and he finished strong with complex combinations. The 2nd round was spitting image of the first, Phan uses good footwork to avoid the majority of Garcia’s strikes and lands vicious body shots. Garcia landed a few good punches but aside from that he was out struck the entire round. The 3rd round showed a little bit of life for Garcia when he landed a lot more strikes but that still isn’t saying much, Phan stayed composed got his timing back and finished the 3rd off strong with an array of strikes. Clearly Phan won all three rounds and the eruption of boos from the crowd during the decision was deafening. Garcia gets the nod via split decision & blind judging.