Many people had a strong reaction to the split decision victory win by Sean O’Malley at UFC 280, including Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In the aftermath of the monster UFC 280 fight card, there is plenty to discuss. Fans love to go back and talk about all the wins, losses, and controversies. This Monday morning it seems that the biggest topic of conversation remains the split decision win by Sean O’Malley over Petr Yan. That bantamweight fight between O’Malley and Yan was featured on the main card and had been labeled as a number-one contender fight. Coming into the bout O’Malley was ranked 11 in the division and Yan was number one. Some people had counted O’Malley out in the matchup, but he rose to the occasion and squeaked out the win on the judge’s scorecards.
In the immediate aftermath of the win, fans and fellow fighters began to take to social media to voice their opinions on the ruling. Yan, himself took to Twitter following the loss to complain about the decision. He felt he had done enough to warrant the win outright.
Fuck the judges!
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) October 22, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov seemed to have scored the bout for Petr Yan
Former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had a busy night at UFC 280. He was in the corner of several fighters including the main event. In between his assignments, he was able to sit down and enjoy the other fights on the card. He seemed a bit confused when the judge’s scores began to be announced for O’Malley vs. Yan. He turned to his friends in a now-posted video to ask them how that decision was made.
“How, how, no how?” he said courtesy of a video posted by The Red Corner. “How is it possible brother? I swear I gave him (Yan) every round. It was close but he won every round.”
Nurmagomedov and his team were among the many people who felt the fight should have gone Yan’s way. In the co-main event later that night, champion Aljamain Sterling defeated TJ Dillashaw. The split decision by O’Malley may have been enough to secure him the next bout against Sterling in the future.
