Aside from the striking performances and the roaring fans, UFC San Antonio was marred with controversy as fans were outraged at UFC judge Joel Ojeda for scoring the Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen fight a 48-47
UFC San Antonio concluded with an entertaining main event fight featuring Cory Sandhagen and rising star Marlon Vera.
Who is Joel Ojeda UFC judge who scored Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen fight 48-47
Cory Sandhagen defeats Marlon "Chito" Vera via split decision. The Sandman used his wrestling to secure the win. Although judge, Joel Ojeda scored the fight 48-47 for Vera, it has been made abundantly clear that was an inaccurate score. #UFCSanAntonio #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/V7pQPsob4K
— Prestige Combat (@prestigecombat) March 26, 2023
Per @MMADecisions, Joel Ojeda has handed in completed scorecards for just four UFC bouts (including Sandhagen vs. Vera)
I'm all for giving less experienced, regional judges opportunities to get reps and judge UFC events, but for main events, experience is way too important. https://t.co/n28cHNezCr
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 26, 2023
The Cory โSandmanโ Sandhagen ended the Ecuadorian fighterโs 4-fight winning streak in excellent fashion, dominating the fight.
Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen, Coryโs standout performance
Ahead of the fight, many fight fans and expected a stand-and-trade battle between two of the best strikers in the bantamweight division.
However, much to the surprise of everyone, Cory put on a performance of a lifetime throughout the entire bout. Cory showed everyone just how much he had improved on his striking ability. He also brought in a mix of superior combinations, which leaving no room for Vera to catch up.
The 30-year-old went further by showing off his wrestling prowess as well by initiating and securing takedowns.
Joel Ojeda scores 48-47 in favour of Marlon Vera
Chris Lee, Sal DโAmato, and Joel Odeja were the three judges in charge of scoring the highly anticipated bantamweight bout. And despite Cory Sandhagen putting on a crashing performance at the UFC San Antonio fight night, it apparently was not enough to convince first time judge Joel Ojeda to hand over Cory with the higher score.
Following an intense main event battle where Cory clearly dominated, Joel Ojeda scored 48-47 in favour of Marlon Vera. All the fans were left in shock at the score unsurprisingly, after witnessing a one-sided beatdown.
Joel Ojeda UFC judge record
Despite Cory clearly dominating โChitoโ Vera throughout the entire bout, Joel Odeja scored him less than the Ecuadorian did. Interestingly, the fight between Cory and Vera was just Ojedaโs second fight in a judgeโs seat.
Prior to the fight, Ojedaโs first seating as a UFC judge was when he scored the last fight on the preliminary card for the same event night. The match was a featherweight fight between Steven Peterson and Lucas Anderson, where Anderson won via unanimous decision. Before becoming a judge, Joel was a referee who mostly worked for Fury FC and Invicta FC.
UFC fans reactions
UFC fans were understandably, outraged in their reactions towards the atrocious scorecard, which suggested a Marlon Vera win. Interestingly, this isnโt the first time that the UFC has seen a judge scoring a win for a visibly-losing fighter.
However, Joel Ojedaโs score for the Vera and Sandhagen fight will definitely go down as one of the worst fight review and score by a judge in recent UFC history. Fans and fighters alike have all gone out to express their bitter taste towards Ojeda. In fact, due to the rising numbers of controversial scorecards, the MMA community is strongly demanding a better judging model.
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