UFC flyweight Kai Kara-France is the latest fighter to call out the standards of MMA judging. Kara-France’s latest bout, opposite Amir Albazi at UFC Vegas 74, saw Kara-France lose via controversial split decision. Speaking to The MMA Hour, Kara-France called out the judges in question, demanding that they explain themselves and why they cost him a six-figure payout.
As far as Kara-France is concerned, the whole world thinks he won that fight. “To have a bit of time to kind of reflect and let it sink in, look at all the stats, and watch the fight back, I lost, but I didn’t lose.
Kai Kara-France Rips UFC Judges
It’s a weird feeling when you’re at the after-party with Shaquille O’Neal and he’s DJing and you’re thinking, ‘Bro, I should be celebrating a win right now,’ and it feels like I should be but I don’t have that W next to my name. So it’s a tough one.
It’s hard to see how the judges gave it to Amir. When you look at it, black and white, what the stats were, and what he was trying to implement, and I what I was able to neutralize and capitalize on moments, I definitely thought I won and I feel like the whole world does.
I haven’t met anyone or seen anyone yet that though Amir won besides Amir. But hey, that’s the fight. I can’t change the result. I feel like my stocks don’t go down at all. People know that I’m one of the best guys in the world and that performance showed that I’m at the highest level.”
Although the bout was competitive, Kara-France isn’t quite sure where his opponent had the edge over him. “I definitely thought [I won] round one.
Two was a close round, but I feel like I did enough. He got me down in the third round, took my back, couldn’t finish me, and I ended up finishing on top, raining down elbows. And then fourth and fifth, I was the one dictating the pace, I was the one pressuring, I was the one landing the better shots. And it’s how you finish.
It’s momentum. It’s pretty much stamping that you’re winning the fight. He was tired, he was gassed, all he did was push me against the cage, and a few flurries, but mostly it was me those last two rounds. So it’s a tough one when you’re looking at my career right now.
That cost me $100,000, that loss. It cost me my ranking, No. 3 in the world. Where winning this fight would have just put me right back in with probably [Brandon] Royval to fight for the No. 1 contender. It puts me right back into where I want to be, which is the best in the world…
