Joe Rogan praises Sean O’Malley for UFC 280 performance, but believes Petr Yan won

[OctoberRed]

Joe Rogan wasn’t in Abu Dhabi to call UFC 280’s Fight of the Night between Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley, but while he believes O’Malley proved he belonged among the bantamweight elite, he also believes Yan should’ve gotten the nod.

O’Malley ended up getting a highly debated split decision win in the featured bout this past Saturday. On the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the longtime UFC color commentator gave his thoughts on O’Malley’s showing in the biggest spot of his career.

“He was certainly in it against Petr Yan, who was a former champion, the best in the division, the No. 1 contender,” Rogan said. “It was a very close fight, and he definitely hurt Petr on multiple occasions. He caught him with that big knee, rocked him. But the question is: How much is the takedown worth? How much is control worth?”

The second round was the only seemingly unanimous scorecard for Yan as he had massive success on the feet, even stinging O’Malley during the round.

Yan was able to land a pair of takedowns in the third, but O’Malley nearly tripled up with significant strikes. With the first and third rounds very close, Rogan’s thoughts on the outcome are more based on the impact of Yan’s takedowns, and the scoring in MMA as a whole.

“Takedowns without damage, what is the [value],” Rogan asked. “I’m not denying that I thought Petr Yan won, because I did think he won at the end of it, but takedowns without damage versus standup with damage, because ‘Sugar’ landed more strikes standing and had big moments. Yan had some big moments, too, one big left hand that rocked him. The question is how valuable are those takedowns and how valuable is that top game, that control?

“We’re limited by this 10-point must system. One guy can win a round 10-9 and it can be a very close round, and someone can win a round clearly and it can be 10-9. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

[Blond Beast]

I didn’t see it but my brother told me O’Malley didn’t deserve to win but fought hard. Three round fights are tough. Five minutes is also a long time to remember.
For example if someone wins the first three minutes but then the other guy comes on strong for the last two minutes then does that lessen the idea of the effectiveness of the first three minutes?
As humans it will always be controversial in scoring fights. If we always agreed then these sports would generate little interest.
In boxing two judges can score a fight a draw but actually only agree on a round or two. Truth is they didn’t see it the same way at all, but we pretend they did.
Plus winning a feel out round one with minimal punches by a jab or two is worth as much as bartering someone in a later round. 10/8’s and Even rounds are discouraged but they might help make things more accurate in the context of a specific fight. It will never be easy. Controversy helps drive the sport.
I’m just glad we seem to be past the all fights are fixed comments. To fix a major fight and get away with it would be a great undertaking. Relationships crumble and people talk. People also get greedy or cut out. I’m not saying people don’t show up willing to lose. Also I’m not saying certain fighters don’t have stroke. History is full of name guys getting controversial wins as opposed to no names upsetting the apple cart. Geez now I don’t even know what im saying anymore.

[Willy Wanker]

Those were my thought exactly.

O'Malley put up a great effort, but anytime he hurt Yan or had good moments, Yan would always come back stronger to kill his momentum.

It's almost like the fight was given to O'Malley because his performance exceeded expectations.

[OctoberRed]

I didn’t see it but my brother told me O’Malley didn’t deserve to win but fought hard. Three round fights are tough. Five minutes is also a long time to remember.
For example if someone wins the first three minutes but then the other guy comes on strong for the last two minutes then does that lessen the idea of the effectiveness of the first three minutes?
As humans it will always be controversial in scoring fights. If we always agreed then these sports would generate little interest.
In boxing two judges can score a fight a draw but actually only agree on a round or two. Truth is they didn’t see it the same way at all, but we pretend they did.
Plus winning a feel out round one with minimal punches by a jab or two is worth as much as bartering someone in a later round. 10/8’s and Even rounds are discouraged but they might help make things more accurate in the context of a specific fight. It will never be easy. Controversy helps drive the sport.
I’m just glad we seem to be past the all fights are fixed comments. To fix a major fight and get away with it would be a great undertaking. Relationships crumble and people talk. People also get greedy or cut out. I’m not saying people don’t show up willing to lose. Also I’m not saying certain fighters don’t have stroke. History is full of name guys getting controversial wins as opposed to no names upsetting the apple cart. Geez now I don’t even know what im saying anymore.

Same with boxing, when a guy does nothing for most of the round but then rallies in the final 30 seconds to steal it.

[paulf]

Yan won that fight, period. They gave Omalley a gift because he's a draw.

[mromano]

I am going to have to respectfully disagree here. The major scoring criteria is damage done. Yan had a few good moments on their feet, but overall O'Malley had more significant strikes and damage. Yan's ground control was in fact superior, but he did literally zero damage during that control or try to pull off any submissions. I believe O'Malley did enough to win the 1st round. Yan dominated the 2nd and O'Malley won the 3rd by inflicting more damage and strikes. If Yan had won this fight, I would have said, it was razor close and wouldn't have a problem with it. I say they run it back and make it a main event so its a 5 rounder.

[Blond Beast]

When there’s only three rounds but five minutes in each round it can be tough for sure. If there was more segments where the judge had to make a score, like say each minute? would that show that judges are actually closer?
On the other hand we could sit on our hands and not score rounds like a lot of fans do and then in the end just decide who you thought won the fight in the end? Just base it on the overall feeling and impression that you got? Which fighter would you rather be?
But then coming on late and winning down the stretch does that become worth more? Cause that means the other guy didn’t really do much to hurt you in the first half to stop you from coming on late? More questions than answers.
Still I’d hate to see even my favourite fighter win a fight I didn’t think he deserved. Seen too many underdogs get the screw. That makes sense though. Sigh.

[OctoberRed]

When there’s only three rounds but five minutes in each round it can be tough for sure. If there was more segments where the judge had to make a score, like say each minute? would that show that judges are actually closer?
On the other hand we could sit on our hands and not score rounds like a lot of fans do and then in the end just decide who you thought won the fight in the end? Just base it on the overall feeling and impression that you got? Which fighter would you rather be?
But then coming on late and winning down the stretch does that become worth more? Cause that means the other guy didn’t really do much to hurt you in the first half to stop you from coming on late? More questions than answers.
Still I’d hate to see even my favourite fighter win a fight I didn’t think he deserved. Seen too many underdogs get the screw. That makes sense though. Sigh.

A guy can get beat up in the final minute, control the first four, and lost the round.

[markusmod]

A guy can get beat up in the final minute, control the first four, and lost the round.

Just like in boxing, when a guy flurries in the final 30 seconds.

[Blond Beast]

What I find hard is when a fighter wins a full point in say the first round.,, and it’s a feel out round. Mostly jabs, and few punches thrown or connected at all. They may get the round by throwing one more or landing one more. Later on a guy may double their opponents output and landing and batter them bad, but if the opponent doesn’t go down it’s usually always worth that same single point. Even rounds and 10-8 rounds ( with no KD ) are discouraged. Also when a fighter gets dropped they always seem to lose the point for the KD and then the round also automatically. A lot of times I’ve seen fighters come back to control a round after a KD. Or a fighter dominate a round only to get caught by a flash KD at the end. A KD is great but it’s worth a point not automatically a win for the round itself. I don’t know. Hard to find any real answers. I mean an even number of rounds doesn’t help scoring either.