Chael Sonnen during participation in the program 'Bad Guy, Good Guy'. Photo: YouTube Reproduction
Despite the score of the co-main event of the UFC 311 been widely accepted by most of the MMA community, this did not stop some figures from speaking out against the result. For Chael Sonnen, for example, the performance of Umar Nurmagomedov should have been enough to secure victory by decision of the judges against Merab Dvalishvili.
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The former challenger for the middleweight (up to 83,9 kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) belts argued that the Russian won the first 15 minutes of the duel. For the former fighter, the score of the third round is the determining factor in defining the winner.
“I thought Umar won the fight. When they announced Merab, I thought there would be a lot of booing. I was alone. I thought they were going to give Umar rounds 1, 2 and 3. I think anyone would have agreed that it was round 3. (Rounds) 4 and 5 were very clear, 1 and 2 were very clear. Do you agree with that?” Sonnen said in a video posted on his YouTube channel last Monday (20).
According to the Ultimate Hall of Fame, the main difference between the two fighters was their athletic ability and physical strength.
“I can’t say that Merab is the best fighter. That’s not what I saw, especially if we’re talking about being dynamic, if we’re talking about being sharp and clean techniques – and that’s not an insult to Merab. It’s just a reminder that in this sport these fights are going to get to a point where it’s not always the best athlete, the best martial artist. It’s a 25-minute battle of your ability to keep up,” he added.
Dagestan clan also disagreed with the result
In addition to Sonnen, Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar's younger brother, said he did not agree with the judges' decision. The current Bellator lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) defends his belt this Saturday (25) in the first event in PFL history in Dubai, against the Irishman Paul Hughes. The fight is being promoted as 'Dagestan vs. Ireland 2', in reference to the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov e Conor McGregor at UFC 229, in October 2018.
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