Aussie Official Bodges McCall-Johnson Decision, Absolutely Hangy-Dunked About It
In the Southern Hemisphere, decisions go down the opposite way. PicProps: MMAJunkie
Despite the most carefully laid plans of UFC officials, a rematch will be necessary to determine a finalist in the UFC’s tournament to crown its first 125 pound champion, and an Aussie official has stepped up to take the blame.
Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall battled to a draw through three rounds, and would have gone to a sudden victory fourth-round because Zuffa was Batman-prepared and made sure they had a way to settle such an unsatisfying outcome. But a tabulation error by Craig Waller — the Executive Director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales — mistakenly crowned Johnson the winner, “and turned the whole banger right poofter-saucy,” according to Waller, adding that he felt like “a right frumious Bandersnatch.”
It’s unclear what was written on Bruce Buffer’s cards, but he initially announced ”29-28 McCall, 29-28 Johnson, and 29-28 for the winner by majority decision,” Johnson. McCall lost his s**t and ran out of the cage, and Johnson screamed like a virgin, touched for the very first time.
Now, those announced scores would equal a split decision victory for Johnson — a majority decision would have meant two judges for Johnson and one judge seeing a draw. And it turned out that one judge did see it a draw. Then it turned out that, in fact, two judges (Sal D’Amato and Anthony Dimitriou) had seen the fight a draw after three rounds, and had wanted to see a fourth round. Waller had managed to miss a 10-8 round for McCall on D’Amato’s card, even though paying attention to such things is kinda important.
The third judge, Kon Papai [Ed Note: actually his name] scored the fight 29-28 for Johnson. That’s what you call a “majority draw”, and “let’s get ready to sudden death, b***hes”, but somehow Johnny Koalapunter over here managed to screw up his main job of transcribing and tabulating scores.
“I feel like a right dinkie-donger,” said Waller. ”Make no mistake, Sal’s score was a kinky dingo’s breakfast, but it was my mullyshonky. And that Buffer bloke is jakes to a kookaburra, as far as I’m concerned.”
Dana White was understandably upset by the outcome, saying “[Expletive] this [expletive], I [expletive]the whole[expletive] [expletive],” and explained that a rematch would happen at a date to be determined soon, saying they’d “[expletive] that [expletive] when they [expletive] [expletive].”
Zuffa has tended to avoid the tournament system in the UFC due to just these kinds of snags, but had elected to hold a four-man bracket to inaugurate its first flyweight champion, signing two of the top-ranked fighters in the weight class (McCall and Yasuhiro Urus**tani), and inviting two top-flight bantamweights to drop down (Johnson and Joe Benavidez). It was the first time that the UFC has put on a tournament since 1982, when Jean Claude van Damme won the whole thing via flying holy s**t did you see that bro.
[RX]