Jon Anik understands Kai Kara-France’s frustration with the outcome of his fight at UFC on ESPN 45.
Kara-France (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) was edged out in a split decision loss to Amir Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in this past Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a decision that had him and his City Kickboxing teammates in disbelief.
Anik agrees with Kara-France and believes the judges got it wrong.
“I certainly had Rounds 1, 4, and 5 for Kai Kara-France,” Anik said in a recent episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast. “A lot of people would argue maybe it was 2-2 going into that fifth round, but there was no argument as to who won that fifth round. So, I felt like it was pretty clear for Kai Kara-France.
“I understand the uproar from his teammates, and certainly it’s lazy to suggest that as an elite-level fighter you can’t leave it in the hands of the judges. More often than not when we talk about these fights that are exceedingly close, we are talking about elite-level fighters, and more often than not we are talking about five rounds.”
According to MMA Decisions, only two media outlets scored the fight for Albazi, whereas 19 others scored it for Kara-France with mixed scores of 48-47 and 49-46. It was a close fight throughout, but the momentum started to sway toward Kara-France in the championship rounds – not according to judge Chris Lee, though.
“In Round 4 of this fight, Kai Kara-France was 27 of 65 (significant strikes) and Amir Albazi was 5 of 29, and Chris Lee gave Round 4 for Amir Albazi,” Anik said. “So when I look at the singularity of that scorecard, I feel like Kai Kara-France was robbed in that Round 4.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
Jon Anik: ‘It was pretty clear’ Kai Kara-France beat Amir Albazi at UFC on ESPN 45