Too Close To Call: Worst Split Decisions In UFC Championship History

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is the most unpredictable sport in the world.

Not only when it comes to the elite combat stars that participate inside the Octagon, but also the three knuckleheads that score the action. That’s why UFC President Dana White has repeatedly hammered home the notion that a fighter should never leave it in the hands of the judges.

Yet despite the aforementioned warning, many fights do not end before the clock does. Even in some of the more notable title clashes in promotional history, judges play a more important role than the championship caliber athletes themselves.

It’s a harsh reality when the scoring goes awry, but the sport has not evolved to the point of actually fixing the system across the board.

In accordance with the decisions that just didn’t go the way they were supposed to, here are the four most egregious split-decision calls in UFC championship history.

Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez I – UFC 152:

It’s pretty astonishing that Joseph Benavidez earned the nod from one judge at UFC 152, although losing the fight to Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson via split decision.

Besides nearly locking in a one-arm guillotine choke, the Team Alpha Male standout did little to out work a more efficient, calculated, and athletic Johnson. Through five complete rounds, Johnson found a home for 33 more significant strikes, landed 49 percent of his shots to Benavidez’s 19 percent, secured five total takedowns to Benavidez’s zero, and dominated in the clinch.

Not to mention Benavidez failed to out-strike the UFC flyweight champion in every single round.

What makes thing even crazier is the fact that one of the judges that scored the fight for Johnson, actually gave Benavidez two rounds.

Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson II – UFC 150:

Say what you will about their first controversial lightweight title fight at UFC 144, Frankie Edgar certainly did enough to win his strap back from then-champion Benson Henderson at UFC 150.

In one of the more surprising decisions in the history of the 155-pound division, “Smooth” retained his title after narrowly escaping the judges’ scorecards. While certainly close in significant strikes landed (66 to 64 in favor of Frankie), Edgar seemingly did enough through 25 minutes.

Henderson was able to outscore Edgar on the feet in two of the rounds, but “The Answer” responded with a successful takedown in each frame. Not to mention Edgar secured a knockdown in the second.

At the very least, this should have been scored a draw.

 

Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit – UFC 195:

One of the most recent UFC title fight controversies the MMA world has taken on was Carlos Condit getting snubbed in favor of welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 195.

Condit’s 176 significant strikes (which is second to only Joanna Jedrzejczyk for most strikes landed in a UFC title fight) should have been enough to capture at least three out of the five rounds. Instead, the champion’s hectic pace in the fifth and final frame created a lasting impression on the cageside judges.

Despite a knockdown earlier in the fight that decisively won him the second round, Lawler did very little until the final few moments of the contest. Condit not only threw a ridiculous 322 strikes through the first 20 minutes, but he was winning in every sense of the word. From setting the pace to mixing in kicks, spinning backfists, leaping elbows, body shots, and lunging combinations, “The Natural Born Killer” had arguably put on the fight of his life.

But when the dust settled and Lawler had tapped into his primal state of emergency to batter Condit up until the final bell sounded, “Ruthless” escaped with the split-decision victory. It was a head-scratching outcome to say the least, but a fight that will go down as one of the best in UFC welterweight history.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks – UFC 167:

There’s a few people that will argue that former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre defeated Johny Hendricks at UFC 171.

In reality, “Bigg Rigg” did everything that he needed to do in order to finally dethrone a champion who had reigned over the 170-pound weight class for nearly six years. He commanded the center of the Octagon, landed the bigger shots in all five rounds, and essentially made St-Pierre look like a flattened tomato.

While GSP landed more significant strikes throughout the bout, everyone watching was under the assumption that he was entering the fifth round already down 3-1. And after the final bell rang, the Canadian superstar himself seemed to accept the reality that he had just lost for the first time since 2007.

But in dramatic fashion, whether fueled by his historic bid for a ninth straight UFC title defense or not, St-Pierre captured the split decision win. Even Dana White was outraged in an interview during the post-fight coverage on FOX (originally reported by USAtoday.com).