John McCarthy has thrown his full support behind the judges in Sean Strickland’s split decision victory over Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 328 main event, saying there was no controversy in the middleweight title result.
Strickland edged Chimaev on the scorecards this past Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with all three judges having the fight 2-2 heading into the final round. Eric Colon and Sal D'Amato scored Round 5 for Strickland, securing him the belt.
Breaking down the fight on "Weighing In," McCarthy made it clear where he stood. "I did agree with the scoring," he said, later adding, "I thought it was done perfectly. It was obvious that Khamzat come out, he wins the first round easily, he dominates Strickland, but doesn't do any damage. He's holding a lot. ... It's a 10-9 round for Khamzat. Sean comes out (in Round 2), reverses it, and obviously 10-9 round for Sean. You get into the third and fourth, they switch them back and forth. So, going into the fifth, I had it as the fight is up for grabs for, whoever takes this round."
McCarthy emphasized effective offense over pressure in assessing the decisive frame. "Forward motion is nothing if there's not effective shots being landed. (Chimaev) touched him a couple of times, but nothing that was anything that bothered Sean in any way," he said, before concluding, "I thought that Eric Colon and Sal D'Amato got it right. The right guy won."
