Know about who is Derek Cleary, the UFC official who’s fifth-round decision at UFC 288 cost Henry Cejudo the bantamweight title and is he a good or bad judge in MMA
The conclusion of UFC 288 was recently held at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, and included a lot of outstanding performances and finishes.
In the main contest, bantamweight Henry Cejudo and undisputed champion Aljamain Sterling faced off. After a 5-round bout, “Triple C” was defeated by Sterling through split decision.
The former two-division champion failed in his two attempts to capture the bantamweight championship.
Who is UFC judge Derek Cleary and his bad decisions in MMA
Many supporters also believe that it might be the outcome of a bad decision. Despite the closeness of the contest, one of the judges who oversaw it, Derek Cleary, received criticism from the public on social media.
Michael Bell, Eric Colon, and Cleary all served as judges for the bantamweight title contest. Cejudo won, 48-47, against “Funkmaster,” according to Michael Bell, who was one of the judges.
Nevertheless, Derek Cleary gave the winner the fifth round, which the majority of the MMA community believes was won by “Triple C.”
Many supporters believe that if Derek had accurately scored the deciding round, Henry would have won the title and left the Octagon.
Sadly, Cejudo has already lost a match that was vital for his future following a three-year layoff. It’s crucial to remember that this is not the first time the UFC judge has made such a grave error, especially during a main-event match.
In past UFC matches, Derek Cleary has a history of oddly scoring
According to MMADecisions, Derek Cleary has officiated over more than 550 mixed martial arts matches for organisations like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator, PFL, Cage Warriors, and others.
However, Cleary has received criticism for his unusual scoring before. In 2012, Derek officiated his first fight as a referee at UFC 145. Many supporters contend that he wrongly took victories away from multiple UFC fighters.
In addition to UFC 288, Derek’s performance in UFC 284 drew harsh criticism from the MMA community.
He gave Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev’s razor-thin match a score of 49-46 in favour of the Russian victor. The outcome from the two remaining judges was much closer, favouring Islam 48–47.
#UFC284 Official Scorecards: Islam Makhachev (@MAKHACHEVMMA) vs Alexander Volkanovski
See every judges' scorecard from #UFC284 here ➡️: https://t.co/enKup6T3NK pic.twitter.com/5DJgiyxJdU
— UFC News (@UFCNews) February 12, 2023
At UFC Fight Night 215 in November 2022, Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Charles Johnson faced off at flyweight.
The vast majority of residents in the neighbourhood thought Zhalgas deserved to win. Derek, on the other hand, had a different viewpoint and awarded Johnson the victory in the tie-breaking vote with a score of 29-28.
In May of the same year, Derek and Mike Bell awarded Ketlen Vieira a 48-47 victory in the main event at UFC Vegas 55. According to Sal D’Amato’s books, Holly Holm defeated her 48–47, handing her a split decision loss.
#UFCVegas55 Official Scorecards: Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira (@KetlenVieiraUFC)
See every scorecard from #UFCVegas55 here ➡️: https://t.co/KGZKTNFMgT pic.twitter.com/6oxKqb4Duu
— UFC News (@UFCNews) May 22, 2022
Dana White, the president of the UFC, has criticised Judge Derek for his questionable scoring at UFC 259 as well.
Jan Blachowicz defeated Israel Adesanya in the championship match in March 2021. Jan used his wrestling prowess to win the final match, though it wasn’t a rout.