Fans were outraged as a popular ex-champion Aljamain Sterling failed to register another featherweight win on Saturday night.
The former bantamweight king was bizarrely placed on the prelim section of the UFC 310 card when facing the unbeaten Russian Movsar Evloev. And he seemed to be handling the challenge of his rival well, landing a number of big takedowns in a grappling masterclass.
However, viewers were left scratching their heads as all three judges scored the second and third rounds for Evloev, handing Sterling another loss. And they vented their frustration on social media after watching the result be read by Bruce Buffer.
Movsar Evloev takes Unanimous Decision win over Aljamain Sterling
Despite his undefeated record and shredded physique, Ajamain Sterling appeared to be able to get Movsar Evloev down to the floor with relative ease early in the fight. The newly-minted featherweight showed off his top level wrestling to get control and clearly win the first.
When the Russian star got back to his feet, Sterling tossed him through the air and back to the mat – but Evloev had some of his own wrestling success before the end of round one. That reversal became more the story of the second as Evloev had considerably more success and levelled the scores.
But as it seemed to be heading towards a Sterling victory as the third moved forward. The judges, on the other hand, felt that Evloev did enough, and his record moved to a perfect 19-0 much to the annoyance of many viewers.
Fans rage over Movsar Evloev vs Aljamain Sterling result
After the scorecards were released on social media showing all three of the judges giving it 29-28 to Evloev, and particularly that third round, fans were not happy. They let their displeasure be known in a series of angry posts, claiming that Sterling was “robbed”.
The Russian is not a popular fighter with fans anyway, and perhaps there was a degree of confirmation bias for viewers that wanted to see him finally lose. But that didn’t stop their aggression from coming out, with one writing: “Bulls*** decision.”
Others noted that it seemed strange that not one of the judges would see such a close third round in favour of the American. One wrote: “That last takedown from Mosvar counted for too much. Aljo was controlling tf out of him up until the end of the round.”
Aljamain Sterling reacts to Movsar Evloev loss
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Sterling has come out to congratulate his rival and declare that he would be making a comeback. While he felt he did enough to warrant the decision, he still left a classy post towards his opponent.
“Tough fight,” he wrote on X to his followers. “I thought I might’ve edged it out against a tough opponent, but we came up short. Thank you all for the love and support and I hope the performance was a fun one for you all to watch.
“Movsar is a beast, I showed where I belong in this division. For now, we decompress and heal up, then get ready to climb the ladder again. The dream doesn’t stop unless you give up! I’ll be back!
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