Reza Madadi was declared the loser in the first fight of UFC 153 in Rio. Madadi was facing Brazilian Cristiano Marcello, and the verdict by the judges differed than almost every fan and those in the media… and MMA Viking.com staff and those in the Swedish Media. While “robbery” may be a bit extreme, a score card of 30-27 against the fighter from Sweden was irresponsible judging (shame on you – UK judge Aaron Chatfield). Another judge giving the fight to Madadi also?
MMA Viking looked at websites around the world to find scorecards and opinions of the bout with our local fighter, Reza Madadi, fighting in Rio against Cristiano Marcello. While many additional views on Twitter from those like Mauro Ranallo that called the score “off” and Ben Fowlkes (USA Today / MMAJunkie) “robbed”, below are websites that posted round-by-round results on their websites or Twitter:
Round 1
10-9 Madadi – sportv.globo.com (Brazil’s largest media) Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMAWeekly.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s TJ De Santis
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Chris Nelson
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman
10-9 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan
10-9 Madadi – FightLine/OpposingViews.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – TSN.ca Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMA Fighting Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – BloodyElbow.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Josh Gross ESPN
10-9 Madadi – 5thround.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMABay Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Bleacher Report’s Nathan McCarter
10-9 Madadi – mmarising.com Play-by-Play
———– – Oficial Scorecards ———–
10-9 Madadi – Cardo Urso OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
10-9 Marcello – Romulo Bettencourt OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC* – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
10-9 Marcello – Aaron Chatfield OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC* – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
Round 2
10-9 Madadi – sportv.globo.com (Brazil’s largest media) Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMAWeekly.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s TJ De Santis
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Chris Nelson
10-9 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman
10-9 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan
10-9 Madadi – FightLine/OpposingViews.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – TSN.ca Play-by-Play – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
10-9 Madadi – MMA Fighting Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – BloodyElbow.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Josh Gross ESPN
10-9 Madadi – 5thround.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – MMABay Play-by-Play
10-9 Madadi – Bleacher Report’s Nathan McCarter
10-9 Madadi – mmarising.com Play-by-Play
———– – Oficial Scorecards ———–
10-9 Madadi – Cardo Urso OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
10-9 Madadi – Romulo Bettencourt OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
10-9 Marcello – Aaron Chatfield OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC* – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
Round 3
10-9 Marcello – sportv.globo.com (Brazil’s largest media) Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – MMAWeekly.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – Sherdog.com’s TJ De Santis
10-9 Marcello – Sherdog.com’s Chris Nelson
10-9 Marcello – Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman
10-9 Marcello – MMAjunkie.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan
10-9 Marcello – FightLine/OpposingViews.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – TSN.ca Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – MMA Fighting Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – BloodyElbow.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – Josh Gross ESPN
10-9 Marcello – 5thround.com Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – MMABay Play-by-Play
10-9 Marcello – Bleacher Report’s Nathan McCarter
10-9 Marcello – mmarising.com Play-by-Play
———– – Oficial Scorecards ———–
10-9 Marcello – Cardo Urso OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
10-9 Marcello – Romulo Bettencourt OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
10-9 Marcello – Aaron Chatfield OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
Final Scorecards
29-28 Madadi – sportv.globo.com (Brazil’s largest media) Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – MMAWeekly.com Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s TJ De Santis
29-28 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Chris Nelson
29-28 Madadi – Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman
29-28 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan
29-28 Madadi – FightLine/OpposingViews.com Play-by-Play
29-28 Marcello – TSN.ca Play-by-Play – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
29-28 Madadi – MMA Fighting Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – BloodyElbow.com Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – Josh Gross ESPN
29-28 Madadi – 5thround.com Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – MMABay Play-by-Play
29-28 Madadi – Bleacher Report’s Nathan McCarter
29-28 Madadi – mmarising.com Play-by-Play
———– – Oficial Scorecards ———–
29-28 Madadi – Cardo Urso OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC*
29-28 Marcello – Romulo Bettencourt OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC* – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
30-27 Marcello – Aaron Chatfield OFFICIAL JUDGE at UFC* – NOT IN THE MAJORITY
15 of 16 (93.8%) Media Members Scored the Bout 29-28 Madadi & 1 of 3 (33.0%) of Official Judges Scored the Bout 29-28 Madadi.
The overwhelming result is that Madadi won round 1 and round 2, while Marcello won round 3. This is a scorecard of 29-28 Madadi. Out of the 19 scorecards above, only 2 people gave Marcello round 1, and those were official judges for the bout. Did Madadi get robbed? This research would indicate that the scorecards where different than everyone in the media scoring the bout.
* Official Scorecards from John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn and Hywel Teague @hywelteague Twitter.
