Few things infuriate MMA fans more than a fight being scored incorrectly, though the term “robbery” tends to be thrown around carelessly and is often steeped in bias. With Robbery Review, we’ll take a look back at controversial fights and determine whether the judges were rightly criticized for their decision or if pundits need to examine their own knee-jerk reactions.

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko meet for a third time on Saturday at UFC 306, in a fight that’s supposed to determine once and for all who is the true queen of the 125-pound division.

Let’s hope we get a more definitive answer than what we saw in their rematch.

When Grasso shockingly submitted Shevchenko to claim the flyweight title in their first fight at UFC 285, it was all but guaranteed that Shevchenko would be granted an immediate rematch given her impressive run as champion. The runback occurred six months later on Sept. 16, 2023 at the inaugural Noche UFC, and after an awesome 25-minute fight, the judges’ verdict was anybody’s guess.

As it turned out, a split draw was announced, leaving everyone slightly confused, somewhat shocked, and then downright befuddled when the official scorecards were released.

It’s time to take a proper look back at Grasso-Shevchenko 2 before they face off again. For one thing, it’s just fun to rewatch this classic contest, but more importantly, it’s about time that we dusted off the Robbery Review lab equipment to help us figure out if either Grasso or Shevchenko were robbed of a legitimate win on that memorable September night.

What was the official result?

Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko ends in a split draw.

How did the fight go?

Even though Shevchenko arguably had the edge in the first matchup with Grasso before making a fateful mistake, it was obvious how evenly matched these women are and the early part of the rematch was no different.

Shevchenko’s precision was on full display as she went to the body with kicks to set the tone, while keeping her left hand loaded up to catch Grasso coming in. The champion closed the distance, prompting Shevchenko to go for a takedown that was stuffed. Still, she caught a nice elbow off of it. On Grasso’s side, she stuck with her jab, trusting it to keep Shevchenko at bay. However, the former champion found an opening for a takedown and hunted for a back-take before Grasso brought the fight back to the feet.

In Round 2, Grasso let her hands go and it paid off as she scored with strikes before blocking another Shevchenko takedown. The complexion of the fight dramatically changed when Grasso cracked Shevchenko with a counter right that sent her somersaulting backwards. A quick recovery led to Shevchenko tying Grasso up, which only slowed the action momentarily as Grasso used counter-wrestling to set up a few hard knees to the body and punches to the face. Shevchenko anticipated Grasso resetting with the jab and put her on her back with a perfectly timed takedown. For the most part, Grasso tied Shevchenko up and despite Shevchenko’s best attempts to crack Grasso’s defense, the most damaging strike might have been a Grasso upkick. On to Round 3.

Shevchenko’s kicks were so sharp, it was amazing to see her adapt on the fly after 10 minutes of data. She did a much better job of moving in and out of Grasso’s range to open the third, though Grasso continued to come forward with fundamental boxing. Such a great fight. Shevchenko’s wrestling focus paid off big time as she grounded Grasso for much of this round and threatened with a deep guillotine choke. Grasso was left to defend and wait out the clock.

Through three rounds, it was anyone’s fight. Shevchenko’s jab was on display early in Round 4, another wrinkle in her incredibly diverse game. It looked like she might out-strike Grasso for five minutes, but instead she went for a costly takedown. Grasso stuffed it and controlled Shevchenko’s head, rifling in knees while forcing her backwards to prevent Shevchenko from reaching down to ground herself. A slam by Grasso put Shevchenko down, but not for long as Shevchenko stood up hit a hard elbow on the separation. With 90 seconds to go, Shevchenko went back to the jab and added a late trip (that Grasso almost countered with a kneebar), but was it enough to outweigh Grasso’s knees and slam?

Final round. The striking exchanges were so close, it looked impossible for either warrior to create distance on the scorecards. At a glance, Shevchenko appeared to be a shade better with her boxing. Then, déjà vu. Shevchenko went for a trip, only to have Grasso immediately take her back. No fight-ending submission this time, but an emphatic sequence of ground-and-pound for Grasso, leading to at least one *ahem* interesting scorecard.

What did the judges say?

Mike Bell scored it 47-47.

Sal D’Amato scored it 48-47 Shevchenko.

Junichiro Kamijo scored it 48-47 Grasso.

We should probably break these down, right?

Through the first three rounds, all was well in Judgelandia, with Bell, D’Amato, and Kamijo all having it 29-28 for Shevchenko, with “Bullet” taking Rounds 1 and 3.

In Round 4, Kamijo gave a 10-9 to Grasso, while Bell and D’Amato had it 10-9 Shevchenko.

Based on those scores, Grasso was down on two scorecards and needed a finish to retain her title. Or so we thought. Instead, she left the octagon with the belt thanks to Bell issuing a 10-8 score in her favor (D’Amato and Kamijo scored it 10-9 Grasso) and leaving us with a split draw.

Let’s put a pin in this.

What did the numbers say?

(Statistics per UFC Stats)

Total significant strikes: 84-80 in Grasso’s favor. She had a huge advantage in Round 2 (28-15), which is also where she scored the lone knockdown of the fight, but other than that, no round was separated by more than five significant strikes.

Not helpful, numbers!

Digging deeper, Shevchenko had the advantage in control time with over 8:30 over the five rounds, most notably in Round 3 when she nullified much of Grasso’s offense.

Shevchenko also had a slight edge in head (61-54) and ground strikes (7-2), while Grasso scored more to the body (12-6) and legs (18-13).

What did the media say?

Members of the media listed on MMA Decisions were just about split down the middle, with 11 having it 48-47 Grasso and 11 having it 48-47 Shevchenko. I say “just about” because one intrepid soul (who shall remain nameless) actually had it 47-46 for Grasso.

What did the people say?

(Data derived from MMA Decisions and Verdict MMA)

With nearly 2000 scores submitted to MMA Decisions, it’s safe to say that fight fans had some thoughts on this subject. They were just as torn on the result as the judges and the media, with 46 percent having it 48-47 Grasso and 41.3 percent having it 48-47 Shevchenko. For what it’s worth, two percent had it the same as Bell, 47-47.

As far as Round 4 goes, 52.8 percent had it for Grasso, and 45.1 percent for Shevchenko.

On Verdict, the final score was absurdly close according to fans, with Shevchenko winning by a measly 23 points.

Really, that should be even closer because anyone who didn’t score Round 2 for Grasso should be embarrassed.

You want to know how close this fight was? Check out the Round 4 fan score, which had a difference of ZERO points. That almost never happens on the Verdict app as far as I can recall.

How did I score it?

I had it 48-47 Grasso when I first watched and I’m still comfortable with that score. But Round 4 was a toss-up and if you had it for Shevchenko, I don’t blame you. For the sake of transparency, let’s do a brief round-by-round explanation:

• Round 1: 10-9 Shevchenko. She landed the heavier punches in my view and a timely takedown prevented Grasso from mustering up any late-round heroics.
• Round 2: 10-9 Grasso. This is as clear as it gets. The round was decided when Grasso scored a knockdown and followed with big knees in the clinch.
• Round 3: 10-9 Shevchenko. Another round that shouldn’t be difficult to score. Shevchenko dominated on the ground and all but nullified Grasso’s offense.
• Round 4: 10-9 Grasso. Not confident here. Grasso had the best moment of the round when she drove those knees into Shevchenko’s head, plus a slam, but Shevchenko was outboxing her the rest of the time. A 10-9 Shevchenko score is completely acceptable.
• Round 5: 10-9 Grasso. She put a stamp on the round with that late flurry. Was it a 10-8, though? Eeeeh… I can’t get there.

One could argue that Grasso did enough damage to threaten ending the fight, but Shevchenko was always defending intelligently and at no point did I feel referee Herb Dean was close to stepping in. Not to mention Shevchenko was having success in the standup early in the round, so I don’t see how Grasso’s surge mitigates that.

Was it a robbery?

I can’t emphasize enough how much I disagree with giving Grasso that 10-8. I’m not sure I buy the reasoning that Bell was making up for giving Round 4 to Shevchenko (a justifiable call!), because if that’s the case, then that just makes this so much worse.

That said, Grasso indisputably won two rounds and it’s easy to lean towards her in the fourth as well. Since it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, I’ll remind you that I only consider a fight a robbery if it’s blindingly obvious that one competitor was superior and was not rewarded.

That’s not what happened here. What happened here was two of the best in the world fought an incredibly close fight that could have gone either way and the result was muddled by a bizarre scoring decision. Based on the cards after four rounds, Shevchenko was on her way to becoming champion again, but it’s not a travesty of justice that Grasso retained based on her actual performance.

The final verdict

Not a robbery. But Bell’s Round 5 score is real bad and it feels like we’ve just had way too many examples of a lone judge leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths these days.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Kamaru Usman 2024 welterweight title shot train continues to gain speed.

Depending on who you ask, the “Nigerian Nightmare” is the greatest welterweight of all-time. Okay, that’s admittedly mostly just if you ask UFC CEO Dana White. Regardless, Usman is one of the best to ever do it at 170 pounds, and the former champion still believes he can show he’s competing at an elite level.

The new champion Belal Muhammad has teased interest in facing Usman for his first defense. However, that concept has received backlash from the community thanks to Usman’s recent string of three losses (20-4) that began when he dropped the title to Leon Edwards in 2022. For longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan, none of that matters. Especially considering the savior role that Usman played in his last fight, a short-notice debut at middleweight against Khamzat Chimaev.

“I think they give him Kamaru, that’s the big money fight, it’s the smart fight,” Rogan said on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “They owe Kamaru for Kamaru taking Khamzat on 10 days’ notice. Also, a three-rounder instead of a five-rounder when he won the third. So, he’s got the L, but maybe if he goes five rounds, maybe he doesn’t get the L. It looked to me like he was coming on in the third. He had to figure him out, and also he had to trust his gas tank. The guy trained 10 days for one of the scariest motherf*ckers on Earth. On Earth. I say you gotta give it to Kamaru, because I think Kamaru earned it from that alone.”

Chimaev defeated Usman via a majority decision in their bout at UFC 294 last October. Neither has fought since, but Chimaev’s scheduled to return next month while Usman awaits his next move, which he’s publicly said he hopes is a shot at Muhammad.

The top contender in most fans’ eyes is the undefeated 18-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov, who has also hurled verbal jabs Muhammad’s way. Rogan likes that matchup as well, he just sees time as more in “The Nomad’s” favor than Usman’s.

“You don’t have many more years of Kamaru now, he’s like 37 now,” Rogan said. “I say give him another shot. Shavkat, every win he’s a legend. Bigger and bigger legend. Give it to Kamaru.”

Whoever Muhammad defends against first, he’ll continue to battle against the odds after upsetting Edwards by unanimous decision at UFC 304 in July. Muhammad, 36, has gone unbeaten in 11 consecutive fights (24-3, 1 NC) and still has work to do before he fully captures belief from the MMA world, believes Rogan.

“Belal doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves,” Rogan said. “The way he put it on Leon Edwards, how the f*ck do you not give that guy all the props? All the flowers. He stopped Sean [Brady] standing up. When you see what he did to Leon, you’re like, ‘Good lord.’ Just overwhelmed him. Overwhelming pressure. On the feet, too. On the feet, f*cking dangerous. Never lets you get set. Always on the back foot.”

TOP STORIES

Rivals. Merab Dvalishvili promises it’s not personal with Sean O’Malley but explains why he ‘wanted to smack his face’

Explanation. Demetrious Johnson reveals why he retired from fighting: ‘I don’t find mixed martial arts fun anymore’

Surprise. Quemuel Ottoni explains ‘anxiety crisis’ led to last-minute cancellation of DWCS fight

Options. Kevin Lee says he offered to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series for a shot at UFC return

Unimpressed. Norma Dumont goes scorched earth on Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena title fight: ‘It’s going to be hard to watch’

Brian Ortega discusses falling off UFC 303, finishing story with Diego Lopes at UFC 306

Numbers. Bellator San Diego fight night weights: Usman Nurmagomedov, Alexander Shabliy both pack on nearly 20 pounds

LET’S WATCH

UFC 306 Pre-Fight Presser and Staredowns.

Between the Links.

Embedded 4.

Champ life.

Unforgettable KOs.

Full fights

Fancy UFC 306 preview.

Aspinall swims.

MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

This month’s full playlist:

SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Pinata time.

Choices, indeed.

Noche ready.

Cookin’.

Giddyup.

Mo-Town techniques.

Time.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nora Cornolle (8-1) vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti (7-1); UFC Paris, Sept. 28

Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-5) vs. Justin Tafa (7-4); UFC 308, Oct. 26

Mickey Gall (7-6) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (10-5); UFC 309, Nov. 16

Navajo Stirling (5-0) vs. Tuco Tokkos (10-4); UFC Tampa, Dec. 14

FINAL THOUGHTS

Happy Friday, everybody. Another week in the books with a big weekend ahead. I hope everyone has a great and safe time regardless of the shenanigans you get up to. Cheers, and thanks as always for reading.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

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Preference
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Both Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo train in Phoenix, Arizona, but the two are neither friends nor team mates. In fact, the two have traded verbal blows fairly often over the years, but the trash talk has yet to result in an actual fight.

Only an extremely abbreviated podcast appearance.

It’s fight week for “Suga,” who squares off versus Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024) from the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though his attention should probably be fully focused on “The Machine,” O’Malley spared a moment of his media time to tell Daniel Cormier his litany of problems with Cejudo.

“Henry, he’s gonna be at home streaming this fight illegally because he can’t afford it on his couch, kicking his feet up,” O’Malley told Cormier. “Henry is just a little f—king weasel, and I don’t like that guy … It’s his attitude. He rubs a lot of people wrong. He got this big ego like I’m the man of fighting, and I’m pound-for-pound and teaching Jon Jones how to fight.

“Like bro, you’re not that f—king good. Yeah, you won a couple fights but you’re not that f—king good. Talking about going down to 25 because I’m running the division! He’s like, ‘Oh, I wanna fight Sean’ — you don’t wanna fight me. He doesn’t wanna fight me. I’m a nightmare for him. He’s like, ‘Oh I’ll take you down, hold you down.’ Cool, I’ll get up and kill you. You suck, Henry sucks.”

The tricky issue with the “King of Cringe” is that Cejudo is extremely accomplished. An Olympic gold medal and two UFC titles is nothing to scoff at. That said, Cejudo has managed to put his foot into his mouth on more than one occasion outside of the cage as a coach and analyst, and his best years may be behind him after an ill-advised retirement cost him two years of his prime.

Either way, a match up between the two isn’t likely unless “Suga” coughs up his title on Saturday night. Even then, Cejudo recently announced his intention to return to Flyweight, which could also throw a wrench in those theoretical plans.

Maybe an Arizona dojo storm is in order? The beef doesn’t seem likely to end otherwise.

Insomnia

Michael Chandler is sitting in the corner of a dark room, whispering see you at the top to himself repeatedly.

This looks like the least pleasant combat sports experience yet.

These are the dance moves of a man thrilled to leave his construction career behind.

Foot sweeps are always awesome, but gigantic foot sweeps are extra cool.

Sean O’Malley just earned himself a spot on Dana White’s s—t list.

Did you know Merab and “Suga” debuted one week apart? I did not.

Are these odds an indication of Light Heavyweight being terrible, Anthony Smith being terrible, or Welterweight being great?

Diego Lopes’ hands look so much sharper nowadays, and Joanderson Brito doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Impressive turnaround after a nasty spinning kick.

The technique, skill, and toughness of young strikers around the globe is continually mind-blowing.

Pouya Rahmani is 32 years old with four first-round submission wins.

Random Land

Possibly the most important news I’ve ever included in this column.

Midnight Music: Indie rock, 2014

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Brian Ortega is looking forward to finishing his story with Diego Lopes.

This Saturday, Ortega takes on Lopes in the featured main card fight of UFC 306. The two were originally supposed to face off in a featherweight bout at UFC 303 in June, however, Ortega struggled with his weight cut and the bout was changed to a lightweight contest the day before the event. Then, on the day of the event, Ortega was forced out of the event due to illness and instead, Lopes faced Dan Ige on just a few hours’ notice before winning a unanimous decision.

On Wednesday, Ortega spoke with reporters at UFC 306 media day, where he recounted how he felt that night watching Lopes compete.

“I was staying in the hotel room and we [watched the fights on TV],” Ortega explained. “I was laying in bed and I saw his fight and I was like, ‘Damn, that should have been me.’ But I also thought, ‘Well, come on, bro. Had that been you that night, you probably wouldn’t have won, the way you were feeling.’ Let’s just be honest. But it was a bittersweet moment, knowing I was there, almost made the weight, and we went through what we went through.

“I didn’t really want to pull out, but you have to make a choice. We made peace with it and that was it. But yeah, I had those feelings that we could have got this done with and moved on to the next.”

Ortega now has the chance to do just that this weekend. Following his win over Ige, Lopes called for this fight to be rebooked and for his part, “T-City” was all for it.

“I wasn’t reluctant at all,” Ortega said. “I have a fire lit underneath me because of what happened before. I got to do the whole weigh-ins, got to face off — we went through the motions and we started the story but we never finished it. Saturday we finish it finally. I don’t want to leave anyone with any doubt or anything of how this story ends.”

But while this story may end on Saturday, the journey will continue for Ortega. Before the Lopes fight was originally booked, Ortega had discussed moving up to lightweight and given the lay of the land at 145 pounds right now, the former two-time featherweight title challenger says that still may be the next chapter for him after Saturday.

“100 percent,” Ortega said when asked if he was still contemplating a move up to 155 pounds. “Because you’ve got [Ilia] Topuria and Max [Holloway] fighting in October. Then after that you’ve got whatever date they decide next year to fight [Alexander Volkanovski], so it’s like a line to fight for the belt.

“Depending how this fight goes this weekend, it’s going to determine whether the fans believe that I deserve another shot or not. But either/or, my goal is to stay busy and if there’s nothing for me in the featherweight division, then I’ll move up.”

UFC 306 takes place this Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas with the bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili headlining the event.

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