There are many people who disagree with Daren Till’s victory over Stephen Thompson. “Big” John McCarthy, a legendary referee, is one of them. Rules strictly say that controlling the Octagon needn’t mean you will get the round. (via bloodyelbow.com)
Only three of 25 media members voted for Daren Till. It looks like many people believe Wonderboy did a lot better job in the early rounds. Who knows, the referees might have mixed PRIDE Fighting Championship rules with UFC rules. In PRIDE, the last round decides everything, and the main parameter is activity. When it comes to the UFC, each round is a unit for itself. Check the shocking scorecards here.
Daren Till was pushing forward and controlling the octagon, but is this enough? Did someone forget clear shots and the number of successful strikes landed? It looks like John McCarthy disagrees, and this is a red flag. John McCarthy is a real veteran who works now as a Bellator analyst. He posted his explanations on Twitter when he saw the scorecards (48-47, 49-46,49-46, unanimous decision victory for Till):
Sorry but controlling the Octagon does not give you the round. @WonderboyMMA landed the cleaner harder shots in the first 3 rounds. Sad that people that are supposed to know about the sport are lacking greatly in their knowledge of what is scored in a round #AskBJM
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) May 27, 2018
John McCarthy then went for a deeper explanation, addressing the statement of a fan.
1/2 Thomas, I’m sure I would like you too, but just because the UFC puts something on its broadcast doesn’t mean it is scored like that. So you know, striking & or grappling will be the sole determinant of who wins a round unless they are exactly equal, then u bring in aggression https://t.co/hVtVa5jdAn
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) May 28, 2018
2/2 if that is equal then the last element the judge will use is cage or Octagon Control. Oh and so you know, I’m pretty sure about this because I wrote it https://t.co/hVtVa5jdAn
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) May 28, 2018
In his last post, he talks about the fight stats. There are so many interesting facts here which make even the most experienced viewer wonder whether the fight was scored properly.
So tell me who is the person pushing the button on what they believe to be a significant strike? It’s just a TV guy. 2nd all punches, kicks, knees etc are not the same. This is where people start to get confused when assessing who is winning a fight #AskBJM https://t.co/Vph0ycVB52
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) May 28, 2018
The fight is over and it won’t be overturned, that’s for sure. But this is a big reason for the judges to worry since John McCarthy disagrees with their decision. What do you think, did Wonderboy won this fight? Here are Twitter reactions.
Would you score the contest 48-47 to Stephen Thompson? A knockout blow in the last round gave an advantage to Daren Till, but this is only one round and this is not PRIDE Fighting Championship rules! So, who knows, maybe judges were scoring according to a different system.
Don’t forget the fight took place in Liverpool, maybe somebody wanted the victory of a home competitor!
