Unfortunately for Joselyne Edwards, her latest career triumph hasn’t received the usual praise that comes with getting your hand raised in the octagon. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite.
The Panamanian fighter has been threatened, racially insulted, and even called to commit suicide in overwhelming online attacks made by part of the MMA fan base. This comes after Edwards (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was awarded a split decision win over Lucie Pudilova last Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44 in Kansas City.
“People began attacking me because it was a tough decision,” Edwards told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “The truth is that it was a very hard situation. And I didn’t even make the decision, that decision was made by the judges.
“A lot of people, who don’t have love, are out there saying nonsense. There was one calling for me to commit suicide. And it wasn’t just one, there were many messages. A lot of crazy people writing me things. A lot of Czech people writing angry stuff at me. They’ve been very aggressive, very aggressive.”
It was indeed a controversial decision for many watching the UFC women’s bantamweight bout, including commentators for that UFC event Brendan Fitzgerald, Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, who were stunned by the verdict.
But even then, Edwards doesn’t understand why she’s getting bombarded with hate, as she has no say in the scoring of the fight. The decision lies solely on the three judges scoring from cageside. Ross Swanberg and Davis Huyette gave Edwards 29-28 scores, while Henry Guery gave a 29-28 to Pudilova.
“It’s a controversial decision,” Edwards said. “I’ve been outside the UFC in similar situations. I can understand Lucie, but I didn’t make the decision. A decision that I didn’t make is affecting me.”
How did you score it? 🤔
Joselyne Edwards gets the judges' call over Lucie Pudilová on our #UFCKansasCity prelims
📺 Watch now on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/qtUL1KjS5N
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 15, 2023
After the reading of the decision, Edwards tried to go over to Pudilova and her team and shake her hand in respect. Everyone in Pudilova’s team turned their back on Edwards, which is why the Panamanian gave them the middle finger.
Edwards apologized for her actions, but was upset to see Pudilova’s reaction, as she thought her and her team should understand the decision falls on the judges’ hands.
Edwards approached Pudilova’s team backstage and told them she would be open for a rematch if they were to request one to the UFC.
“I told her team, ‘If you want something more clear, let’s run it back,'” Edwards said. “But since this is not a title fight or Brandon Moreno vs. Figueiredo or something like this, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. But if she wants it and so does the UFC, I’ll fight her and put an end to this. … This has shown me that there’s a lot of damaged people, very damaged. It’s sad that the world is like this.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.
