John McCarthy thinks the deciding round between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan at UFC 273 was scored incorrectly.
Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) defeated Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in this past Saturday’s co-main event to retain the UFC bantamweight title in what was a back-and-forth affair.
Rounds 2 to 5 were pretty easy to score, but it was the close opening frame that had both Sterling and Yan convinced they had done enough to win the fight. One judge gave Yan Round 1, with the other two awarding it to Sterling, which resulted in a split decision win for the champion.
But McCarthy, a former longtime referee and current Bellator commentator, disagrees with the outcome.
“I was very impressed with Aljamain and the way he fought, but there’s no way he won that first round,” McCarthy said on his “Weighing In” podcast. “The heavier shots were landed easily by Yan, and I thought it was a smart tactic by Aljamain to stay on the outside, to move continuously, but he didn’t land much. He landed a couple of kicks, not real hard, and he got hit with some heavy shots for a little bit and right near the end, Yan really started landing some good shots.”
McCarthy did go on to laud Sterling for his dominant second round where he was able to take Yan’s back and fully control him. Despite disagreeing with the pivotal first round, McCarthy doesn’t necessarily view the overall result as a robbery.
“There’s no way in the world you’re gonna tell me that Aljo won that first round, but I will say I thought he fought a great fight,” McCarthy added. “The second round being the one – this is the difference. He won that second round huge. Now he did not damage Petr Yan, so I can see why they all went 10-9 with it, but it was the clearest round of all of them easily for Aljo.
“So if you’re taking a look at it, the first round close. Fourth round, fifth round close, but Petr Yan wins them. Second, third round easy for Aljamain Sterling, so I’m not upset with him winning the fight. I thought he actually fought a very smart fight. He fought well, and you’ve got to give props. He won the belt the way it’s supposed to be won.”
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