"Out of his mind" - Daniel Cormier criticizes lopsided judging in Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France at UFC 277
Daniel Cormier has had his say on the judging after the scorecards for Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France at UFC 277 were released.
In the co-main event of the evening and a rematch between the two, Moreno and Kara-France made the walk to the UFC octagon knowing the winner would walk away with the interim flyweight title. The pair enjoyed some fruitful exchanges but 'The Assassin Baby' looked in control and landed a stunning body kick in the third round that led to the finish of the fight.
Moreno walked away with the interim title and a guaranteed fourth clash with Deiveson Figueiredo.
Discussing the bout, Cormier reacted to the judges' scorecards that seemed all over the place. One judge scored the first two rounds for Moreno, another scored both for Kara-France whereas the third judge scored each fighter a round:
"These scorecards, I literally have no idea what's going on. One judge has Brandon winning both rounds, one judge has the other guy [Kai Kara-France] winning both. If I really had to choose who I would agree with, Sal D'Amato. The guy that judged two for Kara-France to me is out of his mind."
Wild scorecards for Moreno and Kara-France. #UFC277 https://t.co/ILBt6gjrQG
Watch the full episode of the DC & RC show here:
Brandon Moreno believes he was losing the third round against Kai Kara-France
Although the finish to the fight came in the third round, Brandon Moreno believes he would have lost that round had he not found the finish.
'The Assassin Baby' thought Kara-France started to find his footing in the third. The New Zealander even landed a knockdown on the Mexican fighter, opening a nasty cut on his head before Moreno rallied and found a flash finish.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the newly crowned interim flyweight champ admitted he's watched the fight back multiple times and was convinced he was down in the third:
"I watched the fight already, twice or three times... I won the first and the second round. But I completely agree, the third one started really bad for me. Because Kai made the counter with the kick. Then connect the elbow and man, I said this before, and I have a lot of pictures on my social media, I have a cut in the same spot. Man, what a precision of Kai Kara-France to connect in the same spot."
Watch the full interview here: