UFC 308 got off to a controversial start following the opener between Rinat Fakhretdinov and his late replacement opponent, Carlos Leal.
Leal stepped in for Nursulton Ruziboev after being set to compete at a UAE Warriors event earlier this week, where his coach ended up stepping in for him.
In what was shaping up to be a big upset, the Brazilian was looking good in the fight, defending takedowns and getting the better of the striking exchnages.
There was a lot of confusion from the commentary team, however, when the official decision was announced, giving Fakhretdinov the win at UFC 308 via unanimous decision.
The scorecards were even shown on the broadcast shortly after the decision was read so that they could be broken down even further. All three were different from the next with Mike Bell giving rounds one and three to Fakhretdinov, Hadi Mohamed Ali giving him all three, and David Lethaby seeing rounds two and three for the fighter whohasn’t lost since 2014.
MMA fans reacted to a clear sign that we could be in for some debatable judging at UFC 308 following that decision.
It seemed that even in the case that Fakhretdinov was competitive in the fight, Leal had done enough to win at least one of the rounds, let alone losing all three.
Fans weighed in with their thoughts on social media:
