As an analyst I had Taila Santos winning that fight - Henry Cejudo reacts to "unreal" 49-46 score in favor of Valentina Shevchenko; tears into judges

Henry Cejudo (left), Taila Santos vs Valentina Shevchenko (right) [Images courtesy: @henry_cejudo and @ufc via Instagram]

Henry Cejudo recently reacted to the controversial 49-46 scorecard that was read in Valentina Shevchenko's favor in her co-main event clash against Taila Santos at UFC 275.

During an episode of The Triple C & Schmo Show, 'Triple C' discussed Valentina Shevchenko's latest split decision win over the Brazilian and ripped into the judges for the controversial scoring. Here's what the former UFC two-division champion said:

"With all due respect to Valentina [Shevchenko], but as an analyst, I had Santos winning that fight. I think the majority of the people did and you can hear it in the crowd. It's not anything that Valentina didn't do, it's just maybe... 49-46 that's kind of unreal. Congratulations to Valentina, I mean she was able to get the victory, but at the same time, it's like, who are these judges, man? Who are judging us? Who's judging our fights?"

Watch Henry Cejudo discuss controversial scoring in Shevchenko vs. Santos below:

Cejudo also shared his live reaction to the controversial scorecard in a video uploaded to his Twitter. You can watch it below:

I love Valentina and I’m a fan of Valentina, but the scoring criteria needs to improve. Keep the sport honest people. 49-46?!?@AnaKarolinaFr #UFC275 https://t.co/Taj4HUGxXM

The outrage has been widespread on social media, with UFC fighters and fans reacting to the controversial decision in the UFC 275 co-main event, especially the 49-46 scorecard that went champion’s way.

The fight saw Taila Santos control Valentina Shevchenko through the majority of their five-round battle and nearly grapple her way to pulling off an upset. However, it appears that it wasn't enough for the third judge scoring the contest.

While the third judge scored it 49-46 in favor of 'Bullet', the first two judges had the fight split at 48-47 between the two fighters.

Henry Cejudo wants Taila Santos to call for rematch with Valentina Shevchenko

Taila Santos delivered a strong performance against Valentina Shevchenko in her first UFC title opportunity at UFC 275. After the result was announced in Shevchenko's favor, the Brazilian stated in her post-fight octagon interview that she didn't care about the decision and chose not to oppose it.

Henry Cejudo believes that Santos missed the opportunity to call for an immediate title rematch. However, 'Triple C' encouraged the Brazilian to push for another crack at the gold and bring in the attention. Speaking on the same episode of The Triple C & Schmo Show, the Olympic gold medalist said:

"You have to run it back. There's no other way that you shouldn't do it. I think Santos really needs to call it out. The most important thing when a fighter finishes, when he's done, is your post-fight interview - the one you're doing in the octagon. That's where people create storylines. So she doesn't say anything, people just pass you up. You got to create this idea so Santos, if you're watching this, you have to ask for this fight and you have to sell it."

Valentina Shevchenko scored her seventh title defense against Santos in Singapore after winning the vacant belt against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 231 in December 2018. The champion extended her win streak to nine fights with the performance.

Meanwhile, Santos' four-fight win streak came to a halt with the controversial decision. Santos was the underdog heading into the contest and it was expected to be a one-sided affair for Valentina Shevchenko. However, the Brazilian gave 'Bullet' the toughest fight of her MMA career.