MMA Twitter roasts Sal D'Amato for scoring in favor of Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 200
The MMA community has criticized Sal D'Amato for his judging in the fight between Sean Strickland and Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 47.
The event wrapped up with Strickland defeating Hermansson after the two middleweights battled it out in a five-round fight.
While it looked as if the fight should have been a comfortable unanimous decision win for Sean Strickland owing to his dominance over five rounds, judge Sal D'Amato had other things in mind. The veteran MMA judge astonishingly scored the fight in favor of Jack Hermansson with scores of 48-47.
The result saw 'Tarzan' earn a split decision victory. The other two judges scored the fight 49-46 and 49-46 comfortably in favor of Strickland.
The American took a measured approach to the fight and was extremely calm throughout the contest. While Hermansson threw a higher volume of strikes compared to Strickland, it was 'Tarzan' who landed strikes more efficiently.
Fans and fighters on Twitter reacted with shock after hearing of D'Amato's decision. Take a look at some reactions below.
MMA Twitter slams Sal D'Amato for scoring in favor of Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night 200
UFC fighter Chris Daukaus was among the few fighters who immediately called out Sal D'Amato for his atrocious decision.
He called for a statement from the MMA judge himself as to why he had scored the fight the way he did.
"So does Sal D’Amato have to report to anyone on why he scored it for Jack? Would be very interested to hear his reasoning for giving him that score on the cards. Judge accountability should be a thing. #UFCVegas47"
Fans reacted with annoyance as they expressed their disregard for the decision.
Aleksandar Rakic, UFC’s current top light heavyweight, was seen having a hilarious back and forth with former middleweight Chael Sonnen regarding the fight.
Popular boxing figure Teddy Atlas, who is no stranger to 'bad decisions' from his illustrious coaching career, expressed his disregard for the judge.
He also compared the sport of boxing and MMA and said that the two sports might have a mutual problem of unfair and inaccurate judging.
He said:
"I see that the UFC judges also have problems like the boxing. Split decision? Dana, give that judge a few extra bucks for better glasses. #UFCVegas47"
A fan made a logical point, saying the outcome of a fight has a direct impact on a fighter's career and its trajectory. Therefore the system for judging should be rectified.
Strickland's striking coach Erik Nicksick expressed concern for his fighter and criticized Sal D'Amato.