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People are still buzzing about the controversial co-main event at UFC 282. Paddy Pimblett took home the win, but most feel Jared Gordon was robbed.
Well, it sounds like Gordon has a theory as to why the judges gave Pimblett the win. Additionally, his opinion is backed up by former UFC referee “Big” John McCarthy.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Jared Gordon opens up about the fight. He spouts off a few reasons as to why the judges scored in Paddy Pimblett’s favor. You can tell Gordon is still a bit surprised by the outcome. However, it sounds like he thinks the judges were swayed by the crowd.
.@JFlashGordonMMA talks about the “bizarre” scoring in his fight against Paddy Pimblett 👀 #TheMMAHour
“I don’t know what [the judges] were looking at. I don’t know why they were so blind or swayed by outside variables.”
▶️ https://t.co/NFBVfQIxvr pic.twitter.com/uMSA8gqxhu
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) December 14, 2022
Former UFC ref John McCarthy certainly thinks that could be the case. His son was one of the judges for the fight and he discussed with him about the crowd possibly playing a factor.
According to MMA Junkie, McCarthy goes into detail about how that could happen. “First round in that fight, Jared Gordon hit Paddy Pimblett with a left hook like it was a magnet. He hit him over and over and over again and he stung him. You could see it. Now, Paddy had his things, but this can happen when you’re a judge sitting there. You’re getting the crowd responding every time Paddy does something. Because truthfully, Paddy did not punch as many times as Jared Gordon.”
The former UFC ref goes on to say, “He didn’t land as much as Jared Gordon and the shots that he landed were not as good. But when you get the crowd reaction and that’s what you’re hearing, there’s times when you’re not seeing that angle but you’re hearing the reaction of the crowd and it’s an influencer, and I think they got influenced by what the crowd was into,” per MMA Junkie.
So, maybe it pays to be the crowd favorite. Of course, this is speculation and not a proven fact. We’re likely never going to get the real reason why the judges scored the card as they did. However, at the very least, we kind of have a better understanding of what it’s like being a judge for the UFC.