After questionable judging saw what appeared to be a comfortable victory over Davey Grant go down as a split decision, Adrian Yanez has called for repercussions for "terrible" scorecards.
Yanez has been rising up the bantamweight ladder rapidly and establishing his name as one of the most entertaining strikers in the division. Since breaking onto the scene with a memorable TKO win on Dana White's Contender Series in 2020, Yanez has entered the Octagon four times, recorded four wins, three by way of knockouts, and earned four $50,000 bonuses.
In his latest outing, Yanez boarded further passengers to his high-speed hype train by adding the well-established name of England's Grant to his résumé. Against the tough Darlington native, who has never been finished on the feet, Yanez was taken to the scorecards for the first time in the UFC, where he took home a split-decision win.
Yanez Frustrated By Split Decision "Asterisk"
Thanks to an impressive volume and damaging strikes, most had the 28-year-old clear on their cards. Per MMA Decisions, three media members scored the contest 30-27 Yanez, while the other nine had it 29-28 the same way. It was a similar lean in the fan scoring, with over 65% favoring the younger bantamweight.
Given the fact only 11% boasted 30-27 Grant scorecards, a result that is hard to take seriously, it's miraculous that judge Tony Weeks fell on the side of Yanez's opponent in every round. The scorecard was widely criticized at the time, and Yanez has now slammed Weeks for his interpretation of the contest.
During
"Ah, man, he (Tony Weeks) must have been texting, he must have been off in la-la land or whatever... Going back, I was trying to be super biased and re-watching the fight, but I still don't see how all three rounds he gave to Davey Grant. I don't see how he did that. I don't know. And the fact that he's a boxing judge as well, that made me really question a lot of things. I thought that was a terrible card."
Despite ultimately walking away with another win on his record and one step closer to the rankings, Yanez admitted the scorecard has left a bad taste in his mouth and an "asterisk" on the result. In his mind, there should be consequences for judges who deliver clearly wrong scorecards.
"The fact that I still got the win is good, but also, it's still kind of a little asterisk on that win because it's a split decision, so it's like, I don't like that at all. It doesn't sit well with me. I wish there's something else that could happen, and be like, 'Hey, there's a penalty for that. That was a terrible scorecard.' I think, 100%, there should be repercussions on that. I don't like that scorecard at all."
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Bad scorecards aren't uncommon in the promotion and have almost become part and parcel of the sport. Yanez, like virtually every fan and pundit, believes that needs to change.
Do you agree with Adrian Yanez? Should judges be held to account for their scorecards?