The judges were once again under the microscope at UFC St. Louis, after Sean Woodson was awarded the win against Alex Caceres.
Sean Woodson was heading into his fight with Alex Caceres unbeaten in his last five fights, looking to make it three wins in a row following a draw to Luis Saldana in 2022.
‘Bruce Leeroy’ on the other side was looking to bounce from his loss to Giga Chikadze in August last year with a win, putting him back closer to the top 15.
Sean Woodson awarded controversial decision in his hometown
‘The Sniper’ Woodson was one of only three fighters on the card, fighting in his home city of St Louis, Missouri.
After a relatively close three rounds, the 31-year-old was awarded the win, which was disputed on social media by UFC fans around the world.
On all three of the judges’ scorecards, Woodson was awarded round one, after dictating the pace of the fight more than his 35-year-old opponent.
Round two though was a closer round, and it split the opinion of the three judges. Sal D’Amato and Brian Puccilo scored the second round to Caceres, with Henry Gueary scoring it for the hometown fighter.
The controversy stems from the scoring of the final round, with it being relatively clear that ‘Bruce Leeroy’ did enough to warrant winning the final round. Despite that, all three of the judges scored round three to Woodson, shocking the majority of the UFC fanbase.
One fan offered their scorecard on X (formerly Twitter) straight after the fight: “29-28 Caceres, should be another underdog winner here.”
A second fan labeled the scorecards as ‘wild’ commenting, “30-27 is wild.”
Sean Woodson wants Bryce Mitchell next as he eyes the top 15
Despite the win being controversial, Sean Woodson doesn’t care as it gets him closer to the top 15 in the featherweight division.
Although Alex Caceres isn’t currently ranked at featherweight, the veteran has previously held a spot in the rankings and is the biggest name Woodson has beaten so far.
Immediately following his win, ‘The Sniper’ admitted that he feels he is the ‘dark horse’ in the 145lb division, and highlighted rank 12, Bryce Mitchell as someone he wants to face next.
“I’m the dark horse in this division, I can be the best in the world I have everything it takes to get there, the world just doesn’t know it yet.
“I know it, my team knows it, my city knows it. I’m coming for that belt, I promise you. I just beat a (formerly) top 15-ranked guy. I feel like I should be top 15, next I want Bryce Mitchell, then I want top 10, then top five, and then I want my title shot.” Woodson claimed in his Octagon interview.