Gregory Rodrigues pulled off the most impressive victory of his career so far by defeating No.7-ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez in front of a large crowd that gathered to watch them at UFC Sacramento. However, the Brazilian’s triumph was marred by a scoring controversy that made the fans collectively revolt against the judges.

UFC’s comeback to Sacramento after seven years proved to be an exhilarating night, as most fights ended via brutal finishes. But the headliner between Hernandez and Rodrigues remained a 25-minute classic back-and-forth scrap. In the end, it was the Brazilian who displayed his highly improved takedown defense and measured striking to get the better of the Mexican-American.

Despite Hernandez landing just 3 out of 28 takedown attempts, Rodrigues managed to get back to his feet and picked his opponent apart with well-timed leg and body kicks. In fact, ‘Robocop’ scored three knockdowns, with the majority of them coming via leg kicks. After five grueling rounds, the judges scored the fight in favor of the Brazilian veteran, who got the win via unanimous decision. However, his victory was marred by the 48-47, 49-46, and 48-47 scorecards.

Two judges, Ron McCarthy and Chris Leben, rightfully scored the third round for Hernandez, giving him a 10-9. However, the third judge, Derek Cleary, ended up scoring the fifth round in favor of ‘Fluffy,’ which had fans and experts disagreeing with the judgment.

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“Two judges had it 48-47 Robocop, one had it 49-46. I don’t get the 48-47 cards. What two rounds did Fluffy win? He only won the third round. #UFCSacramento,” MMA journalist Adam Marin wrote on X in disagreement.

Following this, fans joined the chorus of people calling out the judges for scoring two rounds in favor of Anthony Hernandez and accused them of robbing Gregory Rodrigues of a fifth-round win. 

Fans call out judges over controversial scoring of UFC Sacramento main event 

“48-47???!!!! got money on fluffy but cut these judges #ufcsacramento” 

“What other round did two of those judges give fluffy? 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭”

“How did the judges give fluffy two rounds lol . I had that 49-46 easy”

“Two of the three judges had it 48-47? How Sway? Outside of R3, there is not a single round you could give Fluffy.”

“I would assume that wins FOTN. That was a WAR. Both of these guys aren’t going to be able to walk for a week after that. #UFCSacramento”