"People are gonna cry robbery" - Alexander Volkanovski gives his take on Josh Emmett's split-decision victory over Calvin Kattar
Alexander Volkanovski didn't have an issue with Josh Emmett getting the nod over Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Austin.
Two weeks ago, Emmett earned a close split decision victory over Kattar in their all-important featherweight clash. It all came down to damage as the numbers were slightly in favor of Kattar.
Many believed that 'The Boston Finisher', who landed 23 more significant strikes than Emmett, should have gotten the nod. However, Volkanovski revealed that he didn't have an issue with the decision going either way. Asked to comment on the fight, the champion told James Lynch of Sportskeeda MMA:
"I mean, it was a close fight. That's the thing. Every time there is a close fight, people are gonna cry robbery. But you can definitely see both sides of the story. That's just how it is, you know what I mean. Especially, obviously those rounds that might seem more clear here and there but you get some rounds that might be: 'Who got that?' It's certainly up to the judges, but for someone to say it's a robbery or something like that, I could have seen it going either way."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's full press conference interview below or check out more UFC 276 interviews on the Sportskeeda YouTube page.
Alexander Volkanovski in favor of open scoring
There have been plenty of questionable decisions in the UFC over the past several months. That being the case, Alexander Volkanovski believes implementing an open scoring system will end the controversy around closely contested fights.
During an interview with Israel Adesanya's FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Volkanovski said:
"I don’t mind the open scoring thing. I don’t think it’s that bad because ... you wanna know if you’re up or if you’re not or something like that. You should have a good enough corner to know that if you ain’t definitely taking the round, don’t sit there thinking, 'Ah, we’re two up,' you gotta have the right corner."
Watch the full interview below:
Volkanovski, of course, is no stranger to being caught up in close calls. During his rematch against Max Holloway, many fans and fighters believed the Hawaii native had done enough to secure the victory.
Nonetheless, the Australian will get the opportunity to silence his doubters once and for all if he can make it a clean 3-0 sweep against Holloway on Saturday.