John McCarthy disagrees with his son’s scorecard for Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon.
McCarthy’s son, Ron McCarthy, was one of the three judges cageside scoring the UFC 282 co-main event between Pimblett and Gordon this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defeated Gordon (19-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) by unanimous decision, a result many saw as questionable. McCarthy’s son awarded Pimbeltt the first two rounds and Gordon the third, but McCarthy thinks he got it wrong.
“No f*cking way Paddy Pimblett won that fight,” McCarthy said on his Weighing In podcast.
He continued, “My son was one of the judges and he asked me and I said, ‘You got that wrong. I thought Jared Gordon won 29-28.'”
Pimblett got arguably the loudest pop from the crowd when walking out to his fight. Being that he’s a fan favorite, McCarthy thinks the crowd’s reactions to his shots made it appear as though he was landing more significantly than he really was.
“First round in that fight, Jared Gordon hit Paddy Pimblett with a left hook like it was a magnet,” McCarthy said. “He hit him over and over and over again and he stung him. You could see it. Now, Paddy had his things, but this can happen when you’re a judge sitting there. You’re getting the crowd responding every time Paddy does something. Because truthfully, Paddy did not punch as many times as Jared Gordon.
“He didn’t land as much as Jared Gordon and the shots that he landed were not as good. But when you get the crowd reaction and that’s what you’re hearing, there’s times when you’re not seeing that angle but you’re hearing the reaction of the crowd and it’s an influencer, and I think they got influenced by what the crowd was into.”
McCarthy scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Gordon, giving him Rounds 1 and 3. McCarthy’s son and Doug Crosby gave Pimblett Round 1, but “Big John” can’t understand how.
“Jared Gordon won that first round, he won the third round, I give Paddy Pimblett the second round,” McCarthy said. “But if you go back and you watch that fight, that first round, a lot of people said really close, not really that close. I’m not like one guy ran over the other, but it’s pretty clear Jared Gordon should have won that round.”
