Alexander Volkanovski beat the odds on Saturday night, defeating Diego Lopes to become the first fighter older than 35 to win a belt under 170 pounds.
“The Great” definitely did enough to earn his unanimous decision win in Miami. He was just too slick for Lopes, who just couldn’t handle his movement or volume. After two fights where Volkanovski was laid flat in the cage, it feels like a return to normalcy to write that again. Volk used his superior cardio and speed to win 48–47, 49–46, and 49–46 on the judges’ scorecards (watch the highlights here).
At a glance there’s nothing too controversial about those scores, but Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan had a bit to say after realizing Sal D’Amato had given Volkanovski the 4th round, which saw Volkanovski knocked down and temporarily blinded by Lopes.
D’Amato’s 49-46 score had Lopes winning the second round. Chris Lee’s 49-46 had Lopes winning the fourth. Derek Cleary’s 48-46 had Lopes winning the second and fourth rounds.
We scored the fight 49-46 Volkanovski with Lopes taking round four, but we saw enough from Lopes in the second and third round to suspect the judges might potentially throw those his way. That’s how UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby saw it … he scored the fight 2-1 for Lopes after round 3.
“Drug test Sean Shelby!” Joe Rogan declared after hearing the matchmaker’s scoring.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
