Amadi's Take
AMADI: Judges Didn't Screw Frankie Edgar at UFC 150, Frankie Screwed Frankie
Aug 12, 2012 - 5:45:38 PM AMADI: Judges Didn't Screw Frankie Edgar at UFC 150, Frankie Screwed Frankie

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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

I'm a staunch believer in the idea that there can be close fights with clear winners, but we didn't really get that out of the UFC 150 main event on Saturday night. Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar contested the UFC Lightweight Championship in a close five round affair that saw Henderson retain his championship. The first round definitely went to Benson Henderson, while the second round definitely went to Frankie Edgar; every round beyond that was pretty much a tossup.

I personally had Edgar winning four out of the five rounds, but that doesn't really get across how close the fight was. FightMetric scored it a draw using the ten-point must system, and though according to them Edgar was able to land more significant strikes in four of the five rounds, he was only able to do so by three or four strikes each round at the most.

Almost everyone who watched the fight seemed to have scored it in favor of the challenger, and like I said, I'm one of them. However, the judges did not screw Frankie Edgar last night; Frankie Edgar screwed Frankie Edgar.

The phrase "don't leave it in the hands of the judges" is trite and cliché, and in no way addresses how difficult it is to finish world class competition. However, there is something to be said for at least going into championship fights with that mentality.

Edgar dropped the UFC Lightweight Title to Henderson in February of this year in a great, action-packed fight. There were some that felt Edgar edged Henderson the first time out, but generally most seemed to agree that Henderson punched harder, kicked harder, and won the fight based on damage.

If Edgar thought he was wronged by the judges in the first fight, there was no way of telling that by the way he approached the rematch. It's highly uncharacteristic of title challengers to stay on the outside, narrowly outstrike the champion by a margin of two or three strikes and just hope to have rounds scored in their favor; mostly because that hardly ever works.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan really sized up the fight perfectly when he said there was so little that was happening in some of the rounds that one big strike or one good flurry could decide the winner. That's obviously the result of a well matched, tactical fight, but it's also a risky way to try to pick up a world championship.

MMA judging is most certainly atrocious and could very well be the worst problem in all of sports, but Frankie Edgar's approach guaranteed that the judges would get yet another closely contested 25 minute fight to decide. Edgar has now fought Benson Henderson twice and lost twice. If he or anyone else is wondering why that is, "The Answer" has only himself to blame.

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