We saw it come to a head with last week's UFC Fight Night 42, where Rob Pearson was practically robbed at gunpoint over a victory he should have had over Diego Sanchez. It was bad enough that the UFC opted to pay Pearson his win money. UFC 174's Arlovski vs. Schaub decision wasn't quite as bad, and you could argue that Arlovski took the first two rounds, despite how close they were. If you give Arlovski the first two rounds, well, Schaub didn't do enough in the third to be scored a 10-8 round, so Arlovski essentially took the fight on points, even though he didn't do all that much in the first two frames, and was solidly outworked in the third despite an active guard. The flip side of that is, Schaub could easily have been scored one of those two rounds, and combined with his third round domination, it would seem that overall, he was the stronger fighter in the bout. It wound up a split decision that just as easily could have gone Schaub's way, and as great as it was seeing "The Pitbull" back in the octagon, there's a case to be made for Schaub having won it. It was a bit of a steal. It also brings up the entire problem with the 10 point must system. With MMA using a boxing system, that strong third round by Schaub really doesn't get the credit it's due. Scoring in fights like this is simply a mess.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
