Welcome to “Judges Gonna Judge,” where our MMA Junkie staff panel revisits the most controversial decision that occurred over the weekend.
This week, we take a closer look at the UFC on ESPN 51 co-main bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson and Hakeem Dawodu.
The fight was mostly a striking affair over 15 minutes, although there were some moments in the clinch and on the mat. The judges rendered their decision and all three scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Swanson, much to his surprise.
Considering how the fight unfolded, Swanson’s reaction as his hand was raised by the referee and his admission that he did not think he won the fight in post-fight inteviews, the judges’ decision was publicly scrutinized. Media members overwhelmingly saw the fight for Dawodu, as 11 of the 13 scores submitted on MMA Decisions were in his favor.
Official judges Ron McCarthy and Jacob Montalvo issued identical scorecards, giving Swanson the first and third rounds. Judge Sal D’Amato arrived at a 29-28 score, but he saw the second and third rounds for Swanson.
MMA Junkie’s Matthew Wells, Farah Hannoun and Mike Bohn put on their judging hats and break the fight down by each round.
If you need a refresher on the official scoring criteria before we dive in, you can check it out here.
Round 1
Wells: The striking exchanges in the first round were fairly close, but I think Dawodu did better work overall. Perhaps the judges were swayed by a nice double left jab and right hand combo from Swanson around the four-minute mark that caused Dawodu to stumble backward. Aside from that moment, Dawodu did well to land nice counters while mixing up his punches and leg kicks in combinations as he stalked Swanson around the cage. Not to mention, he bloodied Swanson’s nose with about a minute to go from a few stiff lefts. It was a close round, but Dawodu had a higher volume and his leg kicks seemed to bother Swanson later in the round.
Wells’ score: 10-9 Dawodu
Hannoun: Swanson was able to get Dawodu’s attention early when he lunged in and connected with a beautiful right hand. Dawodu fired back with a combination of his own, which ended with another hard leg kick. Dawodu mixed things up nicely to the body, and also managed to mark up Swanson’s face towards the end of the round. Close opening five minutes, but Dawodu landed the more significant and varied shots.
Hannoun’s score: 10-9 Dawodu
Bohn: On first watch, this felt like a Dawodu round. He bloodied Swanson’s face, landed 29 significant strikes to Swanson’s 26, and just generally seemed to have the momentum. On second watch it was much closer, mainly because Swanson’s slightly edge in head strikes landed. The 12 leg kicks landed from Dawodu were definitely impactful, and considering he inflicted damage to both Swanson’s legs and his face, it’s hard to justify scoring it against him.
Bohn’s score: 10-9 Dawodu
Round 2
Wells: Early in the round, Dawodu got right back to work with quick combinations, including a nice spinning back kick. Swanson returned fire as well, but a clinch from Dawodu against the cage saw some nice knees to the body. They returned to the middle and let their strikes fly, with Dawodu landing a hard right hand at 3:00 to get Swanson’s attention. A few more striking exchanges took place before Dawodu initiated another clinch against the cage, where he worked more short strikes in close. They separated with 10 seconds to go and had a very wild exchange, but this round was clearly for Dawodu.
Wells’ score: 10-9 Dawodu
Hannoun: Swanson landed some nice short uppercuts in the clinch, but Dawodu fired back with knees to the body to kick off Round 2. Although Swanson was pressuring, Dawodu timed his entries very well as Swanson’s nose continued to leak. Dawodu outmuscled Swanson in the clinch in the closing minute of the fight, but as soon as Swanson broke off, he unloaded with a combination. This round goes to Dawodu, who did the more solid work overall.
Hannoun’s score: 10-9 Dawodu
Bohn: Although this was the closest round of the fight from a statistical perspective, with Dawodu landing just one more significant strike than Swanson (29 to 28 in the round), it felt like the most clear-cut round of the fight. Several of Dawodu’s punches got Swanson’s attention and made him reset, the Canadian controlled the action in the clinch for several minutes, while Swanson’s shots just didn’t carry the same type of zip. Although one judge actually gave this round to Swanson, this felt like the easiest one to score.
Bohn’s score: 10-9 Dawodu
Round 3
Wells: The first minute of the last round saw very nice work from Dawodu in the striking department. Swanson looked for a headlock takedown but couldn’t get it and the fight went to the clinch against the fence. A low blow from Dawodu paused the fight at 2:55 while working knees in the clinch, and another at 2:34. More heated exchanges followed, but Swanson began landing nicely, including a very nice left to the body at 1:54. With about 80 seconds to go, Swanson easily completed a takedown and stepped over to half guard. He looked for an arm triangle, but it wasn’t there. Dawodu tried to scramble back to his feet, but Swanson rushed back in and took his back. The rear-naked choke was there for a moment, but Dawodu reversed out right at the horn.
Wells’ score: 10-9 Swanson
Hannoun: Swanson tried to mix things up with a takedown, but Dawodu got back up and pressed him against the fence. An apparent low blow by Dawodu forced referee Jason Herzog to break up the clinch, but Dawodu took Swanson right back to the fence. Another accidental low blow by Dawodu lost him the position once again.
Swanson landed a nice body shot, but Dawodu returned fire with a one-two. With less than 90 seconds to go in the fight, Swanson landed a takedown and managed to briefly take the back before the sound of the horn. Close round, but Swanson edged it with the late takedown.
Hannoun’s score: 10-9 Swanson
Bohn: There was a little bit of trickiness in play with this round, because it was the only portion of the fight that consisted of any grappling on the mat. Dawodu landed more throughout the round and was more accurate with his output, but Swanson’s takedown and control within the final two minutes were meaningful. He didn’t land a ton of damage with ground-and-pound, but he feverishly tried to finish the fight late with a submission. He didn’t get anywhere close, really, but it was good work from good positions, and I have no problem giving him the round for his late push, even if there’s a good case for Dawodu’s striking prior to the takedown being more impactful.
Bohn’s score: 10-9 Swanson
If the fighter wasn't confident he won, why were the judges?
Wells: Immediately when this one was over, I had the feeling it was going to be a 29-28 split decision win for Dawodu. He landed more strikes than Swanson in every round, but the ground game in the final frame was something to consider. To see D’Amato score Round 2 for Swanson was pretty surprising. When most of the fight is spent on the feet in exchanges where both fighters are landing, it’s hard to tell what the cageside judges are seeing, which is why I’m not mad at a Round 1 score for Swanson, although I disagree. When Joe Martinez announced, “Your winner by unanimous decision,” Swanson began clapping in an admission of defeat. “The pride of Palm Springs, California,” followed as a shock to not only Swanson, but Dawodu as well. Swanson then said he thought he didn’t do enough to win the fight, and I agree. It’s not the worst robbery in MMA history, but this one felt like a win for Canada’s “Mean” Hakeem, who did better work in the first two rounds.
Wells’ overall score: 29-28 Dawodu
Hannoun: All three rounds were close which is why Swanson getting his hand raised didn’t appear outrageous to me on the first watch. I gave Dawodu the first two rounds and Swanson the last, but Rounds 1 and 3 were close. Perhaps Round 2 was the clearest one of the three, but Swanson was game throughout the whole fight. But Dawodu outlanded him, and did more damage overall which is why I scored the fight in his favor. Most surprising part is that none of the three judges scored the fight for Dawodu.
Hannoun’s overall score: 29-28 Dawodu
Bohn: Upon second review of this fight, it was closer than it felt live in the moment. When Swanson had his hand raised I wasn’t outraged, because it takes a lot to take my emotion to that level after more than 10 years covering this sport, but I was certainly surprised. I can’t find a ton of people out there who produced live scorecards other than 2-0 for Dawodu going into the third, which is why Swanson’s team told him he needed the knockout. He couldn’t find it, which is why he resorted the takedown in the final minutes. It felt like a good moment to end on and he avoided get badly damaged in front of his wife and three kids cageside, but the result seemed academic at that point. But as we just reviewed, the rounds were pretty darn close, and for judges who only get a single angle from cageside, have no benefit of replays and must turn in their scores within the one-minute break between rounds, I can understand how Swanson got his. Close fights can have clear winners, though, and it seemed my fellow Canadian Dawodu had done enough.
Bohn’s overall score: 29-28 Dawodu
Official decision: Cub Swanson def. Hakeem Dawodu via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Official individual judges’ scores:
Sal D’Amato: 29-28 Swanson
Ron McCarthy: 29-28 Swanson
Jacob Montalvo: 29-28 Swanson
