In the first ever UFC 125-lb. match, an error by the athletic commission in Australia screwed up the result. Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson's bout should have been scored as a draw, and their fight should have gone to a fourth, sudden-death round.
After the fight, MMA Junkie's John Morgan reported that the score announced was not the score written on the judges cards he received. During the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White reported that the fight was actually scored as a majority draw. By the rules of the flyweight tournament, it should have gone to a fourth and decisive round, but the error was discovered too late.
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"Controversy has stuck to us like glue. Human error happens. Johnson-McCall was a draw. Fight was supposed to go to a fourth round. The commission has taken responsibility," White said.
The two will rematch to decide who will take on Joseph Benavidez, the other flyweight tournament winner at UFC on FX 2 on Friday night. For McCall, it's another chance to give the fans a show.
"We get to fight again. I feel vindicated," McCall said.
Johnson was looking forward to fight Benavidez for the promotion's first flyweight title, but now the process will take longer.
"I thought I had the victory, and it sucks because it prolongs stuff," Johnson said.
One consolation for Johnson and McCall is that they won the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, and they both received their win bonuses. They will now have to schedule another fight to see when they can get a step closer to the championship belt.
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