As any longtime fan of MMA knows, VERY unfortunately, bad decisions are pretty much commonplace in our beloved sport. Judging and referring problems are constant and for the long term health of the sport, need to be fixed, SOON! Actually, IMMEDIATELY! In the main event at UFC 123, Rampage Jackson won a split decision over Lyoto Machida. Right off the bat, split decisions already mean that judges are seeing things very differently. More importantly, when the winning fighter admits to "getting his ass whooped", his words, not mine, you know there's a problem.
Here's some verbal gems from Rampage in his post fight Octagon interview with Joe Rogan:
•"Lyoto whooped my ass tonight, I'm so ashamed of myself!"
•"I consider that an ass whoopin'!"
•"Even though I don't want to, I have to give him a rematch!"
•"I was like, DAMN, homie can fight!"
•"Machida's the MAN, ya'll, he's gonna be around for a long time!"
•"Machida's the MAN, that's all I can say!"
Some might say those are the words of an honest, humble, respectful fighter. While true, I see those words as being an absolute admission of losing a fight and also disbelief that he's actually leaving the cage with a "W"! As Joe Rogan said to Quinton, "You're an honest man.". That's absolutely true, Rampage HONESTLY admitted to getting his ass kicked and losing the fight. You have to respect Quinton for his emphatic frankness.
As telling as his words were, which literally say all that needs to be said, Quinton's post fight actions were even more so. As we all know, actions speak louder than words. Let's start with the second the fight ended. Rampage stands up and immediately pulls Lyoto up, grabs his hand and raises it over his head, acknowledging the beating he just took. He then proceeds to put his back to the cage and slump down to the mat like a beaten fighter. Lance Gibson, Q's lead trainer, implores him to get up and literally drags him to his feet. In other words, "try to at least sort of look like you won the fight, dumbass"! Lyoto on the other hand went about his normal post fight activities looking relatively fresh and unscathed. The reason that's the case is because he barely got touched the whole fight. Continuing with the body language theme here, once the decision was announced, Rampage had a complete, "holy shit" look on his face (pictured above) and looked to the heavens thanking whoever he was thanking. Maybe it was the guy working the lights that drugged the judges before the fight. I'm just sayin'............. Seriously, if there was ever a "holy shit" look on someone's face, Rampage epitomized it right there! He looked like a dude whose girl walks in on him while he's banging some drunk skank he pulled out of his local bar. Not that I know anything about that (wink, wink)! Beyond all of that body language admission of defeat was Quinton's gracious interaction with Lyoto right after the decision was announced. He can clearly be seen saying to Lyoto, at least twice, "you won, you won!" (pictured below) Then he goes up to Ed Soares, Lyoto's manager and the boss of Blackhouse MMA, and says, again, more than once, "he won, he won". Again, seriously, what more do you need to see to know who won the fight? When the winning fighter tells the losing fighter and his manager that he won, its pretty obvious who deserved the decision, no?
Now to the specifics of the fight itself. The third round isn't even worth talking about other than debating whether it should have been a 10-8 round for Lyoto. He clearly won the round in overwhelming fashion. From the outset of round one, Rampage literally didn't throw a single technique for the first 2 minutes. During that span Machida landed 5 solid leg kicks. On the 5th kick, Rampage finally made an attempt at a "one-two" that missed completely. At 2:40 into the round they clinch along the fence. Rampage proceeds to do the most pussy technique in the sport, stomping on Machida's foot. Talk about desperation, and only half way through the first round. They stayed on the fence for a minute exchanging minor, insignificant strikes. On the break, Rampage throws an uppercut and a cross, of which neither lands. I watched it multiple times in super slow motion just to be sure. Machida proceeds to land 2 hard knees and a very hard body kick which both Rogan and Goldie acknowledged as such. They clinch again against the fence where Machida lands at least 5 knees to Quinton's thigh. They bothered him enough that he lifted his leg in an attempt to avoid taking any more. Nothing of significance happened in the last 45 seconds of the round. In summary, the only significant strikes that landed were 2 hard body kicks, 2 hard knees and multiple low kicks from Lyoto. How the hell does Rampage win that round on any judge's scorecard?
The second round starts with a nice knee from Machida 15 seconds in. They again clinch along the fence but are broken apart after Quinton knees Lyoto in the nuts. The fight resumes and a minute and a half into the round, they clinch again with Rampage landing a decent knee. Almost 2 minutes in, Rampage gets a takedown, does nothing with it and Lyoto gets back to his feet within 20 seconds. Hafway into the round they clinch yet again. Nothing else significant happens until almost 3 and a half minutes into the round where Lyoto lands a vicious knee to the liver, easily one of the hardest strikes of the fight. Quinton comes back with, in my opinion, his ONLY significant strikes of the entire fight, that being a nice uppercut/left hook combo. Even those weren't flush. With a minute left they clinch YET again. Other than battling for position nothing happens until the last few seconds when Lyoto lands a grazing left hand that takes Quinton off balance.
As mentioned already, the third round was ALL Machida and could have easily been scored a 10-8 for him. Amongst other things it included a nasty flurry that stunned Rampage, a hard takedown, complete ground control, full mount and a couple of submission attempts. Clearly, this was the only time either fighter was close to finishing the fight.
Compu-Strike had Rampage landing more strikes in the fight but those have to include those lame foot stomps and weak punches to the body and legs during the clinches. None of that had any impact on the outcome of the fight.
Now, back to the title of this piece. Yes, payback is a bitch, we all know this. While I disagree, many people think Machida was given a "gift" decision in his first fight with Shogun Rua. It seems as though there's now a bullseye on his back where judges are afraid to give him rounds that they should be. Then there's the issue of being the "aggressor". That's just plain stupid. Some fighters try to land strikes by moving forward, some do so by moving to the side first. Some fighters initiate exchanges, some counter. Some fighters sit "in the pocket", others create angles with footwork. A fighter shouldn't be penalized because of their style of fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters like to fight off their back. Should they be "penalized" for pulling guard? Of course not, that's their method of attempting to be in the best position to finish a fight within their style of fighting.
I had Lyoto winning 30-27 and was absolutely shocked that it wasn't a unanimous decision. Even if you give Rampage the second round, he still loses. It comes down to one thing. Don't leave a fight in the judges hands. That's the smartest thing Dana White has ever said. I agree, fighters need to go for finishes. Machida did that and was MUCH closer to ending the fight. Rampage was NEVER anywhere near finishing that fight. Not even remotely close. Unfortunately, as history has shown, we can expect almost anything when an MMA decision is being announced. Expect the unexpected. Rampage obviously didn't expect to hear his name called as the winner.
As hard to digest as bad judging is, even harder would be fixes and corruption. I just hope none of that ugliness has infiltrated this great sport. I'm not saying it has but decisions like this have to make you shake your head in wonder and disbelief. Does the brawling, charismatic, budding actor/movie star wannabee mean more to the UFC than the non-English speaking Brazilian with the eclectic, "elusive" fighting style?!?
I don't know, does he?!?
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