Sean Shelby left speechless by UFC judges after finding out Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko is a split draw
UFC head matchmaker Sean Shelby was far from impressed when he saw the scorecards for the recently concluded Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko title fight.
Grasso and Shevchenko showcased one of the fights of the year at UFC Noche on Saturday. The card featured a number of Mexican fighters from top to bottom, and the Guadalajara-native Grasso was hoping to give her fans another reason to celebrate on Mexican Independence Day.
The fight was a competitive affair for all five rounds and was ruled as a split draw on the judges' scorecards, which read 48-47, 47-48 and 47-47. The result meant that Alexa Grasso retained her belt, but the decision has caused much confusion online.
Judge Mike Bell, who scored the fight 47-47, awarded Grasso the fifth round 10-8. Bell's assessment of the final round has been slammed by Shevchenko as well as many pundits and fans online. Had he scored the round 10-9 in favor of Alexa Grasso, like the other two judges did and which seemed like a fair reflection of the round, the Mexican would have lost the fight via split decision.
Sean Shelby, who specializes in the promotion's female divisions, was in attendance at UFC Noche this weekend. Shelby was in the octagon when Bruce Buffer walked in to announce the result, and cameras captured his reaction to Buffer telling him the scorecards.
It's fair to say that he was less than impressed and could be seen mouthing the following:
"What the..."
Watch the video below:
Calls for a third consecutive fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko have been made following the controversial result at UFC Noche. But 'Bullet' revealed during a post-fight interview that she had fractured her thumb during the bout and would need to get it scanned before deciding on her next step.
Valentina Shevchenko reflects on controversial judging against Alexa Grasso at UFC Noche
Valentina Shevchenko was unable to reclaim the belt she lost to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 in March when the pair faced off in an epic rematch at UFC Noche this weekend.
The bout was ruled as a split draw, meaning that Grasso retained her title. But the former champion stated following the fight that she felt the judges were pressured into giving Grasso the decision.
Valentina Shevchenko pointed to it being Mexican Independence Day and claimed that the judges likely caved in to the crowd's influence. 'Bullet' was interviewed by Megan Olivi following the main event clash, where she said:
"I was very sure it was three rounds my side, two rounds [on] Grasso's side. I feel maybe there's a little bit of pressure because it's Mexican Independence Day... But I felt very confident that it was 3-2 my side."
Watch the video below from 0:05: