When Joe Rogan expressed concern after Sean O'Malley's controversial win at UFC 280: "I thought Petr Yan won"
In late 2022, Joe Rogan was one of several MMA personalities who believed Sean O'Malley lost his bout to Petr Yan at UFC 280. The two top bantamweights faced each other in a highly competitive bout that ended in a split-decision in O'Malley's favor.
On episode #1887 of The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan spoke to Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan. The longtime UFC color commentator, who was not in the broadcast booth for UFC 280, confessed to having Yan ahead of O'Malley on the scorecards.
He did, however, clarify that it was a close fight and that O'Malley hurt Yan at various points throughout the fight. Rogan said:
"He was certainly in it against Petr Yan, who is a former champion and one of the best in the division. By far, the number one contender. It was a very close fight, and he definitely hurt Petr on multiple occasions. Caught him with a big knee, rocked him. The question is, how much is the takedown worth? How much is control worth?"
Keenan subsequently chimed in with his own thoughts. After seeing the number of takedowns Yan had completed, he had assumed that the former bantamweight champion had won. Rogan, though, was quick to point out that the takedowns ultimately led to very little damage, despite also thinking Yan won. He added:
"Yeah, but takedowns without damage. It's like, what is the value—and I'm not denying that I thought Petr Yan won, cause I did think he won at the end of it. But takedowns without damage versus standup with damage, cause 'Sugar' landed more strikes standing, had big moments."
Check out Joe Rogan's analysis of Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan (0:56 and 1:20):
With the win over Yan, O'Malley went on to challenge the then-bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, who he TKO'd at UFC 292.
Joe Rogan wasn't the only MMA figure the UFC 280 scorecards baffled
After the conclusion of Sean O'Malley's bout with Petr Yan, the MMA world waited with bated breath for the winner to be announced. However, instead of Yan, it was O'Malley who was declared the victor. Besides Joe Rogan, among those shocked by the verdict was Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a clip that made the rounds on social media, 'The Eagle' can be seen reacting to the decision and saying:
"How? How? No, how? How is it possible, brother?"
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's reaction to Sean O'Malley beating Petr Yan at UFC 280 (0:25):
The unbeaten legend was almost speechless after the scorecards were read, openly questioning how Yan could be declared the loser. Nevertheless, O'Malley used that momentum to carve out a bantamweight championship path, and he is now set to defend his title at Noche UFC 306 against Merab Dvalishvili.