The judges faced heavy criticism from fans, pundits and fighters in the aftermath of UFC 313.
Alex Pereira’s unanimous decision defeat to Magomed Ankalaev prompted angry backlash on social media.
However, the most contentious scorecards of Saturday night’s event came after the second fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Featherweight fighter Francis Marshall appeared to have breezed to a points win over Marion Santos, but the UFC 313 crowd booed loudly when he found himself on the wrong end of a very controversial split decision defeat.
- READ MORE: ‘Garbage decision’… Former UFC heavyweight protests Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev result
Francis Marshall issues statement after shock UFC 313 defeat
On Sunday morning, Marshall issued a social media statement addressing his controversial UFC 313 loss.
The 8-3 MMA star, who dropped to 2-3 in the Octagon, kept it classy as he reflected on the fight some people are calling a ‘robbery’.
“Wow, obviously last night did not go accordingly and I didn’t get the outcome I was hoping for,” Marshall wrote on Instagram.
“I appreciate all the positive support from everyone, it means a lot. I can sit back and complain about bad judging, but that’s not in my control. The only thing I can control is how I bounce back from this loss and what I can do in the future to prevent this from happening again.
“At the end of the day, there’s no one to blame except myself, I didn’t pull the trigger enough and didn’t listen to my corner as much as I should have.
“With all that being said, I am a completely different fighter than I was 6 months ago. We made a ton of improvements in every part of my game the last 9 weeks for this fight. I know I’m in the right place with the best team, coaches and training partners in the world.
“Next time I won’t let it be close enough for there to be any question with the judges. And without those 3 great men in my corner I wouldn’t have been able to be on a performance like that, and I know they’ll make me better for the next one. I can’t thank them enough.
“I’m always grateful for the UFC giving me opportunities to showcase my skills on the biggest stage in the world. I get to do what I love for a career and not many people can say the same.
“Remember it’s always easy to try and blame someone or something else for things that happen to us, but it’s usually the person in the mirror that’s at fault. Hope to be back soon, Thank You Everyone.”
Joe Rogan calls out UFC 313 judges
One of the UFC 313 judges scored the fight 30-27, giving all three rounds to Marshall.
However, that card was overruled by the other two judges, who scored 29-28 for Santos.
Joe Rogan couldn’t hide his shock at the verdict, which he labelled a ‘bad decision’.
The UFC legend’s co-commentators Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik agreed Marshall was unlucky to lose
Rogan believed that a 30-27 scorecard in favor of Marshall made more sense than 29-28 to his opponent.
Unfortunately, having the backing of Rogan and a bunch of fans won’t change anything for Marshall, who now faces an anxious wait to see if he’ll be given another shot in the UFC.