UFC 215 scorecards: Judges were all over the place for Nunes vs Shevchenko 2

Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko fought for the 2nd time in their careers, and instead of getting a definitive conclusion, it ended up with a pretty contested and highly debated decision.

Official scorecards had Nunes defending her belt by winning a split decision, with the scores of 48-47 twice, and 47-48 the other way for Shevchenko.

Judge Sal D’Amato gave Nunes rounds 1, 3 and 5, and judge David Therjen gave her rounds 1, 2 and 5.

The only one to score it for Shevchenko was judge Tony Weeks, who gave her rounds 2, 3, and 5.

Here’s a photo of the card, courtesy of MMA Fighting:

I personally thought rounds 2 to 4 should’ve been awarded to Shevchenko. While Nunes kept pushing forward, the challenger kept timing her well and countered beautifully during those three rounds. Neither fighter got hurt, but Shevchenko landed the far cleaner shots I think, especially in the middle rounds.

I do understand Weeks giving round 5 to Shevchenko as well, as Nunes did nothing with her takedowns, and was even the one taking shots from those positions. I thought Shevchenko did enough to take the belt either way, but what I don’t understand, is Weeks somehow giving her the 5th but not the 4th.

If he felt the challenger did enough in Round 5, shouldn’t she have won Round 4 as well? That was Shevchenko’s best round, and even the two judges who scored it for Nunes, gave it to her as well.

Whether Valentina’s counters were ignored or unnoticed, at first watch, it seems like they once again rewarded a fighter for “pushing forward” (or “getting on top” to “steal the round”), without the context of actually doing anything with it.

I’ll have to watch the fight again to get a better read on things, but either way, these official scores seem all over the place, regardless of which fighter they had winning.