Ayman Zajabi doesn’t understand all the controversy surrounding his victory over Jose Aldo.
For the second consecutive fight, Aldo appeared to be at the losing end of the controversial scorecard. After three rounds of intense action, when fans stepped in, many rounds screamed, and many thought “Junior” would drive away the winner via a third gust of wind. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Zahabi made a unanimous decision over Aldo at UFC 315 in Canada, winning the crappy viewers who quickly took him to social media, denounced the judge for another inappropriate scorecard.
When he appeared on Ariel Hellwanishaw, Canada’s standout made his point, believing he was a more aggressive fighter and controlled much of the third round.
“I think I handed my hand. You know. I heard that other guys thought they won. It’s strange… Listen, I’ve definitely seen the fight 100 times,” Zahabi told Herwani. “I won two rounds and three rounds very clearly. The impressive ones were very close, but I had a more important strike landed until the end of the second round and he had the entire round retreat.
“I definitely thought I was a more aggressive fighter in Round 2 and obviously won in Round 3. He only won 30 seconds. I won three minutes in Round 3. I did a lot of damage in the end.
Did Iman Zahabi really win in the 3rd round?
He easily beat Aldo with over 30 strikes in the third round, but the first two stanzas were much closer. Aldo actually only went on two strikes, but at first he overturned his opponent. Second, Zahabi landed Aldo’s 25-26 strike.
Looking at the paper statistics, I think Zahabi clearly won the final round. The truth is said, it’s not that simple.
Zahabi certainly came to life in the second half of the round, but Aldo almost finished with a big knee in the middle at the third 1:20 mark. “Junior” followed with a perfectly timed head kick before catching his opponent and dropping him. After that, Aldo chased Zahavi, who was running for his life. Unfortunately, Aldo couldn’t get a finish and ultimately gasped himself, causing Zahabi to fight the way he returned to the round.
Was Zahabi’s round round comeback enough to alleviate being knocked down by featherweight goats? In many eyes, no. It’s definitely in Zahabi’s eyes. But in the end, it all came down to three opinions, and they all supported the man fighting in his home country.