Pedro Munhoz feels he was wronged by the judges’ who awarded Frankie Edgar with the UFC on ESPN 15 main event victory, and he believes their bias was the culprit.
Frankie Edgar nudged out Pedro Munhoz in a split-decision victory at UFC on ESPN 15 inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas Saturday (Aug. 22) in what was a highly competitive, back-and-forth affair. Munhoz had a lot to combat during the fight, such as Edgar’s movement, swift entries, and, perhaps more than anything, his reputation. Munhoz believes he was the rightful winner of the bout and that the judges factored in a name on the scorecard more than the scoring system itself (h/t MMA Fighting):
“I just want fair things, you know what I mean?” Munhoz said in the event’s post-fight press conference. “I just don’t wanna lose to people that have a better reputation than I do or people that is a former champ, things like that. That’s my point. I want it just fair. Fair scores.”
Pedro Munhoz Argues Scorecards Inconsistent With Stats & Consensus
If the scoring were fair, Munhoz argues, the judges would have taken to account the striking differential and saw what the majority of surveyed media membered saw instead of watching the fight through lenses of reverence for Frankie Edgar.
“I was just right now with the doctor getting some stitches and then some of my coaches, Dan Lambert, he was just showing me 17 of the media scores—20 media scores, 17 gave me the fight,” said Munhoz. “Seventeen. So only three gave it to him. Also I saw the punching scores, I had the first, third, fourth, and fifth rounds.
“Not even the leg kicks. I hurt him with the jabs, I chased him five rounds. He got a couple of takedowns, but he couldn’t do anything with the takedowns, I got back up right away. I was looking for the finish.”
Pedro Munhoz’s failure to get the finish would ultimately spell his demise, as Frankie Edgar will now be taking his spot in the bantamweight rankings in a matter of hours. Munhoz’s last two victories came by way of KO/TKO, so the Brazilian may make extra effort to follow that recipe next time to avoid the stinging counterstrike of the judges.
Do you agree with Pedro Munhoz? Was he the rightful winner of his bout against Frankie Edgar?
