Chael Sonnen gives bizarre reason why UFC 284 judges should have scored in Alexander Volkanovski's favor
Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev went to war for five rounds in the main event of UFC 284 much to the delight of the rowdy Australian crowd. The fans were as loud as any fight night crowd in recent memory but were left speechless when Bruce Buffer announced Makhachev as the winner.
The contest was incredibly close, despite the judges awarding Makhachev a unanimous decision. Former two-weight title challenger Chael Sonnen believes the trio of officials made one crucial error. 'The American Gangster' noted that there was an "industry standard" in the combat sports world where judges often awarded close decisions to hometown fighters.
Sonnen said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel:
"What I begrudge is the lack of courage that [the judges] showed by giving Islam [Makhachev] the fight, and not doing what we have an industry standard of doing in giving [the decision] to the hometown guy. The hometown guy who was undersized, the only one who had any interest in there tonight, who had the crowd and momentum going so the world's gonna understand it. You give it to the [hometown] guy. That is what the standard of our industry says."
Watch the video below from 2:00:
Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill, which took place at UFC 75 in Bisping's home country of England, has been regarded as a good example of hometown judging. 'The Count' was awarded a decision victory over Hamill following a close contest, but many felt the American had done enough to win.
Last month, renowned MMA coach Eric Nicksick stated that the judges at UFC 283 in Brazil could have been swayed by the crowd had Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno gone to a decision. Nicksick felt that the judges would have awarded Figueiredo the victory due to the crowd's influence.
Chael Sonnen's observations about combat sports having an "industry standard" may be accurate. But whether that would've justified awarding Alexander Volkanovski the decision victory is a moot point.
Alexander Volkanovski believes he defeated Islam Makhachev after watching the bout
Alexander Volkanovski stated during his post-fight press conference that he could have done more to capitalize on Islam Makhachev's mistakes in their contest at UFC 284.
Both men landed powerful shots on the feet, but it appeared that Makhachev's control time on the ground during the third and fourth rounds swayed the judges' decision.
'The Great' was unsure whether he should have been awarded the victory following a close fight. But after watching the bout, the featherweight champion took to Twitter to call for a rematch.
Alexander Volkanovski stated the following:
"Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won 2,3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime!"
See the tweet below:
Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won 2,3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime! 👊