John McCarthy doesn’t see any controversy in the outcome of the UFC 328 main event.
Sean Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) edged out Khamzat Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) by split decision to claim the middleweight title this past Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
All three judges had it 2-2 heading into Round 5, with the exact same scorecard. However, judges Eric Colon and Sal D’Amato gave Strickland the final round which was the deciding factor.
“I did agree with the scoring,” McCarthy said on the “Weighing In” podcast. “I thought it was done perfectly. It was obvious that Khamzat come out, he wins the first round easily, he dominates Strickland, but doesn’t do any damage. He’s holding a lot. … It’s a 10-9 round for Khamzat. Sean comes out (in Round 2), reverses it, and obviously 10-9 round for Sean. You get into the third and fourth, they switch them back and forth. So, going into the fifth, I had it as the fight is up for grabs for, whoever takes this round.”
Heading into Round 3, Chimaev abandoned his grappling for the most part, and opted to pressure Strickland on the feet. Despite that and a couple more takedowns landed, McCarthy explains why it wasn’t enough in the judges’ eyes.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re going forward,” McCarthy said. “Forward motion is nothing if there’s not effective shots being landed. (Chimaev) touched him a couple of times, but nothing that was anything that bothered Sean in any way. The takedown, he gets the takedown – what did he do? He rode the back. He didn’t land any shots. It’s a positional change.
“I’ll give him credit for the takedown itself, but you did no damage. You did nothing on the ground until Sean gets up. And then Sean ends up peppering you with that jab, lands the right hand a couple times, snaps you back, and he lands the most effective strikes by a considerable amount. He wins the round. … I thought that Eric Colon and Sal D’Amato got it right. The right guy won.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 328: John McCarthy agrees with judges that Strickland beat Chimaev