‘Completely Unfair’

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — “The Bullet” was shocked by the judge’s scorecards.

The Flyweight belt is staying in Mexico as Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fought to split draw last night at Noche UFC (Sat., Sept. 16, 2023) from inside the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas (watch highlights). Because of the draw, champion Grasso keeps her title. It was only the sixth draw in UFC title fight history.

During the Noche UFC post-fight press conference, Shevchenko reacted to the absurd 10-8 scorecard that judge Mike Bell rendered.

“I couldn’t believe that it happened in that fifth round. It’s a 10-8, it was surprising for me, very surprising,” Shevchenko told the media. “ I feel that the 10-8 in the fifth round was completely unfair…I feel that to give a 10-8, you have to be very sure that it is a 10-8, but it was not our case. It’s kind of like it wasn’t even close to a 10-8. And yeah, I hope [judging is] gonna change. I know many fighters go through the same frustration when it’s kind of like that way. But you cannot do nothing. The official decision is the official decision. As I mentioned, it’s a draw. It’s not a loss. But in my case, it’s not a victory.”

Undoubtedly, the 10-8 scorecard was a head-scratcher and could go down as one of the worst judging blunders of 2023, mainly because it was a title fight with so many stakes.

Check out the scorecard below:

The former Flyweight champion believes the judge was affected by the crowd and because of the Mexican Independence Day holiday on which the card was based.

“I continue to fight with my whole heart. I think I did everything to secure the victory,” Shevchenko said. “Unfortunately, I think because of this event, it’s Mexican Independence Day- that’s why it affected the decision of the judge to give 10-8 in the fifth round. And from my experience, a 10-8 is when one fighter completely cannot do anything. It’s like running around waiting. They’re looking for an escape from the octagon; it’s miserable.”

Shevchenko is now 0-1-1 against Grasso and hopes to get the trilogy.

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