UFC 100 wasn't exactly the epic event everyone was hoping for, but there were some entertaining matches on the card along with another judging controversy that some fans are calling "robbery". I took the time this morning to watch the Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher fight two more times to confirm my initial judgement that Akiyama had defeated Alan Belcher, and I'm even more convinced now that Akiyama won that fight.

Interestingly enough, many fans scolded the judge who scored the fight 30-27. At the time, I was definitely siding with fans that 30-27 was overkill and a 29-28 scoring was much more realistic in this fight. After watching the first two rounds once again and even for a third time, I'm not so sure I agree that the judge who scored the bout 30-27 was completely off his/her rocker.

The first round was decisively Akiyama's round. He landed more shots, landed a couple of kick/punch combinations, was able to control Belcher on the ground toward the end of the round.  The only real damage that Belcher inflicted was a shot that downed Akiyama and opened up a slight cut below his eye. While it was a drop shot, it was just a flash, not a finish. The rest of the round was easily Akiyama's round. Oddly enough, Belcher's trainers told him he was getting the better of the exchanges when it was evident he wasn't.

The second round is a controversy. Akiyama worked his ground game for the first 3 minutes of the round, racking up control points. This judging dilemma when looking at this fight and trying to evaluate it. Akiyama's ground control and shots he landed while pounding on Belcher in the first three minutes of the round are likely being compared to the final two minutes in which Belcher landed some solid leg kicks and some decent power punches. Akiyama landed one solid counter right hand with :10 seconds left, and Belcher's flurries in the final two minutes weren't anything spectacular.

Did he steal the round? Most fans believe so, and I'd probably give the round to Belcher at the end. Does it warrant scolding a judge for a 30-27 decision at the end? No. It was a judgement call based on ground tactics vs. Belcher's punching at the end of the round. Belcher wasn't overwhelming nor impressive with his shots, but he did land more in the final two minutes of the round.

The third round was the subject of many fans' rants regarding a robbery decision... including Joe Rogan who tweeted that Belcher was "F*CKING ROBBED". I completely disagree with Rogan's assessment, and i'd be interested to hear his explanation regarding the fight.

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Akiyama eats a couple jabs, but then lands a solid three-four punch combination early. Belcher and Akiyama exchange blows with Belcher landing some body shots but eating jabs from Akiyama on the way out. Belcher lands a couple of kicks and small jabs, and at this point in the round, a slight edge to Belcher is probably warranted. Belcher continues to try to kick, but Akiyama lands a spinning back kick and a solid left to counter. Belcher swings for the high head kick and misses. Akiyama counters with two decent combinations, then a solid right hand against the fence on Belcher. Belcher eats two more jabs as they hit the center of the cage. Belcher goes for the leg kick, Akiyama punches at the same time dropping Belcher. It was probably more of an off-balance fall, but Akiyama did land a power shot.

Belcher throws a superman punch that lands on Akiyama. This is probably the most overrated strike of the fight, and Rogan and Goldberg go a bit nuts over it. Akiyama lands a stiff left jab after the two reset in the center. Belcher lands a leg kick, then goes for a spinning back fist as Akiyama is nearly grabbing him for the takedown. Akiyama trips Belcher, takes him to the floor into side control. The flurry at the end of the fight saw Akiyama land two more solid jabs while Belcher landed a body kick.

How should we score round three? I scored it for Akiyama, and I stand firm on that call. He landed some big strikes throughout the round while the commentary team focused mostly on Belcher's leg kicks. The big problem is that judges don't focus heavily on leg kicks versus punching. However, I still think Akiyama landed the more quality strikes within the round. The takedown was the deal closer. Even though Akiyama didn't do much with it, he did take down Belcher into side control. This is definitely another problem with the current judging system as takedowns without damage are normally scored in some way. It was, however, a takedown at an opportune time, and he managed to put Belcher into a dangerous position immediately.

I officially scored it 29-28, and I can safely say that this decision wasn't "robbery" by any means. In fact, I felt when the decision was given to Akiyama that the judging had prevailed in actually being knowledgeable as to what was going on. 30-27 was a bit extreme, but a 29-28 decision for Akiyama was my outlook on the fight.

In watching the overall performances of both fighters however, it's evident that neither fighter is a world beater by any means. Belcher looked slow at times, much slower than in past events. Akiyama's gas tank drained in the second round, and I would have thought his judo game would have been a major part of trying to work the clinch on the fence. We didn't see that. Akiyama isn't the answer the UFC is looking for when we talk about guys in the middleweight division that can contend for the title, but he'll be a nice international draw for the UFC.

I definitely wasn't impressed with "Sexyama" in this matchup, and it almost looked as if he didn't take his first match in the Octagon seriously. Hopefully, he'll get back into better shape for his next match.