When I heard the judges scores at the end of the Fabio Maldonado vs Igor Pokrajac fight at UFC on Fuel 3, I was certain Maldonado had secured a victory. When Bruce Buffer said Igor's name, I was shocked. I thought maybe I had missed something, but I couldn't understand how a judge gave all 3 rounds to Pokrajac.

I went to Fight Metric and checked the numbers, and robbery may be a better description than a close decision. Fabio Maldonado landed 98 of 137 significant strikes (72%), compared to 36 of 80 for Pokrajac (45%). Total strikes were 166 out of 215 for Fabio (77%) compared to 64 out of 111 for Igor (57%). Pokrajac was credited with one TD and 2 guard passes, while Maldonado had 1 guard pass. Under the 10 point must system these numbers can be deceiving, so I will go over the round by round numbers after the jump.

Here is the fight metric report I used

In the first round Maldonado was 36 of 47 in significant strikes, Pokrajac landing only 6 of 12. Total strikes were 47-16 in favor of Maldonado, but Igor secured his only TD of the fight here, and scored with 2 guard passes.

In the second Fabio landed 26 of 33 significant strikes, compared to 13 of 30 for Igor. Total strikes were even further in favor of Maldonado, at 60-18. Pokrajac was 0-3 on TDs, and Maldonado was credited with one guard pass.

The third round was more of the same, with Maldonado outlanding Pokrajac 36-17 in significant strikes, and 59-30 in total strikes. Maldonado was 0 for 1 in TD attempts, and Pokrajac did not attempt any.

Looking at these numbers, I do not know how a judge can justify scoring the fight for Igor, especially all three. Maldonado threw twice as many strikes as Pokrajac, and landed at a much higher percentage. Clearly it was no pitter patter punches, as significant strikes were landed at a 2.7-1 ratio. I think 30-27 or 29-28 Maldonado are justifiable scores, but I don't see a win there for Pokrajac.

What do you guys and gals think? Do the numbers tell the story in this fight, or do you agree with the judges? Sound off please.