One of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fighters got away with cheating at UFC Baku.
For the first time ever, the UFC heads to the country of Azerbaijan for a Fight Night event.
Top light heavyweights meet in the main event of UFC Baku as former champion Jamahal Hill looks to rebound from back-to-back losses against Muay Thai striker Khalil Rountree Jr.
The undercard featured a flyweight clash between the 15-1 Azat Maksum and #13-ranked UFC Flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov, who had coach and former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner.
Ulanbekov would ultimately get his hand raised at UFC Baku but not without controversy.
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Tagir Ulanbekov disobeyed referee as he grabbed the fence as Azat Maksum took him down
Across three rounds of action, Maksum was able to take down Ulanbekov three times and defended eight takedown attempts from the Dagestani.
Maksum attempted a takedown on Ulanbekov minutes into the first round and Ulanbekov tried to defend by illegally holding onto the cage.
The referee immediately told Ulanbekov to not grab the fence and decided not to take a point from the fighter as his opponent Maksum completed the takedown despite the illegal move.
“That is blatant as they get,” UFC commentator Michael Bisping said of Ulanbekov cheating at UFC Baku.
“I’m not saying take a point but they are warned very harshly before,” Bisping said.
“That prevented him from being taken down in that particular case right there and that’s where it’s egregious,” commentator Paul Felder said of Ulanbekov’s fence grab.
Tagir Ulanbekov won all three rounds on judges’ controversial scorecard
The fans weren’t happy with the fence grab or the judges’ decision after the flyweight fight was over.
Fighting to the distance, Ulanbekov outlanded Maksum by two total strikes and racked up nearly four minutes of control time in the clinch.
Maksum scored three takedowns on Ulanbekov and rallied in the third round with punches and a successful takedown at the final bell.
Maksum ended up losing via unanimous decision, with two judges scoring all three rounds for Ulanbekov.
“Two 30-27’s is WILD,” one fan reacted to the decision on ‘X’.
“30-27 was ridiculous and took away from an amazing fight. A draw is a better call than 30-27,” another fan wrote.
“Automatically up two rounds if Khabib is in your corner,” a fan wrote.
“Maksum got robbed,” another fan wrote.