The gym where featherweight fighter Francis Marshall trains has joined many in calling out his controversial decision loss at UFC 313.
Marshall was among those making the walk early at Saturday’s pay-per-view event inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. On the undercard of Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev’s light heavyweight title fight, the American prospect faced Mairon Santos.
“Fire” entered the cage at UFC 313 as an underdog against the Brazilian, who was highly touted and riding the wave from success on last year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter.
In spite of the odds, Marshall fought admirably, dropping Santos in the first round and enjoying success across the remaining two frames. But although that netted him one 30-27 scorecard, experienced judges Chris Lee and David Lethaby saw the contest 29-28 in favor of his opponent.
The split decision verdict caused immediate uproar on social media, with many fighters, analysts, and fans branding it a “robbery” and the “worst decision of the past 10 years.”
Marshall and his team will evidently be feeling hard done by after the result at UFC 313, evidenced by a recent post on the X account of American Top Team, the renowned Florida gym out of which “Fire” trains.
“A real shame when a fighter trains his ass off and clearly wins, only to get screwed.”
Marshall, 26, is now 8-3 in professional MMA. Since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series as an undefeated fighter, he’s gone 2-3 in the UFC. Of the defeats, two have come via split decision.
