Alexander Gustafsson has had two fairly close title fights thus far with two of the best fighters at 205 lbs., and he’s come close to scoring victories in both. The closer of those two fights – one against Jon Jones and one with Daniel Cormier – came on Saturday at UFC 192, where he dropped Cormier in the third round and took one judge’s scorecard.
UFC President Dana White said afterward that he disagreed with that scorecard, and thought Cormier won three rounds to two.
“I had it 3-2 Cormier,” White said after the card (via MMAJunkie.com). “I think the judges had the right decision. I was a little horrified when I heard that one of the judges had Gustafsson [winning].
“There’s no way you can give Gustafsson the last round. Cormier wins that last round for sure.”
Cormier earned the split decision, with the other two judges edging it in his favor, and keeping him in line for the rematch with Jon Jones.
Penick’s Analysis: I don’t think there’s any argument over the final round, but a Gustafsson card is far from crazy. Rounds one and five were clear for Cormier, and the second seemed clear for the challenger. The swing rounds were the third and the fourth. Watching live I scored the third for Cormier despite the late knockdown, but that one can easily be scored in Gustafsson’s favor. The same goes for the fourth, where I scored it for Cormier live but see the argument for Gustafsson. Those two swing rounds are the difference between a 48-47 card for Gustafsson and the 48-47 and 49-46 cards that came down for Cormier, and none of those cards are unacceptable.
[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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