Who do you think won these close fights

Hendricks
Conor (small margin but yeah)
Rampage - Machida: Borderline Rampage or a draw.
Gus - Jones: The way I remember it I'd give it a draw.
Diaz - Condit: Nick Diaz
BJ - Edgar: I think BJ deserved the win in that one.
Shogun - Machida: Shogun I think.
BJ - GSP: I can't remember.

My memory is a bit dissappointing I guess.:oops:

EDIT: Couldn't find any videos so this is all I can do. I haven't seen Lawler - Condit so I've left it out.
Also, I forgot to mention that I don't score them by every single strike since point fighting and timidity are a known problem in the UFC.
TS, I've updated my post.
Machida's are the toughest ones to call btw.
 
Great Question. I so much prefer this over another GOAT argument or a Conor thread.

All of my replies are for who I thought won under the rules as they existed at the time of the fight. After all the fighters are told the rules as well and would alter how they fought if under different rules. Replies below in red.

GSP- Hendricks
Gsp 3-2. I never got the outrage for this one. Just because Dana went crazy? Please. Hendricks had the clearer rounds but GSP won 3 out of 5...
Agreed.
Also I think part of it was people never seeing GSP in a close fight and thus the surprise gave Hendricks some help. I also think Rogan's commentary was influenced people for the same reason.


Conor- Nate II
3-2 conor. Sorry nate, started too slow
Agreed.
Also let's be honest Nate got absolutely blasted in those first two rounds. Never understood why this was considered a controversial decision.


Rampage- Machida
2-1 rampage. Not enough for a 10-8 in the 3rd for machida imo
Agreed.
There is no way to give Machida either of the first 2 rounds when he did nothing but run away. This was an incredibly boring fight because it basically consisted of Machida backing up and waiting for Rampage to impale himself on his fist. No way in hell do I want to encourage fighters to fight even MORE defensively and reward them for the effort. Fighting backing up and occasionally exploding into an attack to surprise your opponent is fine. But if you never explode forward and do little to nothing but back up then essentially your game plan is to do nothing but wait for your opponent to do something stupid for you to win. If that is your ONLY game plan I am not going to reward you for it.



Lawler-Condit

3-2 condit. Sucks for him tbh. Should have been champ
Agreed.
I didn't even really think it was all that close either.


Gus-Jones

3-2 Jones. Elbow stole it at the end
Agreed.

Condit-Diaz
3-2 condit. Bizzare imo that people think diaz won
Agreed.
I have given up talking to Diaz bro fans as they seem more interested in the lifestyle and "Weed is the best thing ever man" than actual fighting. I do like watching their fights if they would just learn to counter wrestle and defend the kicks but they are such whiners out of the ring and they fight so little I have little sympathy for them.

Bj-Frankie I

3-2 BJ. Honestly could have been 4-1. I dunno wtf the judges were watching lol
Agreed.
I don't know about 4-1 but I definitely agree BJ won the fight.

Shogun-Machida I

3-2 either way tbh. Closer than people intially acted like
I thought this was a really close fight and can argue it either way. I think one of the reasons this board in particular were so adamant that Shogun won is that the PRIDE Rules vs UFC arguments were still in full force and Shogun was Pride's face on this board at the time. Forced to choose and I guess I would pick Shogun.

BJ-GSP 1

Bj 2-1. Sorry. GSP did nothing here.
Disagree.
I thought GSP landed more strikes particularly in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. He also took Penn down numerous times. Shrug on the other hand I find BJ fans tiresome and annoying as some of the more ardent Conor fans so I probably am a little biased.
 
GSP Hendricks
I had Hendricks winning can't remember rounds but I had it 3/2 for rig

Conor Nate 2
The conspiracy theorist in me thought Conor was winning the decision regardless so it clouded my judgement a little

Machida Rampage
Baffled me, had Machida winning easily

Condit beat Lawler

Jones did just enough to beat Gus
It was clouded because we've never seen Jones in danger like that

Condit Diaz
I had Condit winning with no real argument
Remember being in disbelief at the backlash from Diaz fans

Bj and Frankie
Fuck knows too long ago and certainly not a fight I ever watched back, it was awful
I thought it would go to Penn because of his name

Shogun and machida was a robbery I had shogun winning virtually all rounds

BJ GSP1 was close i gave it BJ on damage

BONUS BULLSHIT

Hendo beat Bisping the 2nd time out aswell
He got fucked in Manchester by the judges
 
interesting question

GSP- Hendricks
Gsp 3-2. I never got the outrage for this one. Just because Dana went crazy? Please. Hendricks had the clearer rounds but GSP won 3 out of 5...

Conor- Nate II


3-2 conor. Sorry nate, started too slow

Rampage- Machida

2-1 rampage. Not enough for a 10-8 in the 3rd for machida imo

Lawler-Condit

3-2 condit. Sucks for him tbh. Should have been champ

Gus-Jones


3-2 Jones. Elbow stole it at the end

Condit-Diaz

3-2 condit. Bizzare imo that people think diaz won

Bj-Frankie I

3-2 BJ. Honestly could have been 4-1. I dunno wtf the judges were watching lol

Shogun-Machida I


3-2 either way tbh. Closer than people intially acted like

BJ-GSP 1

Bj 2-1. Sorry. GSP did nothing here.
GSP. Arguable either way

Conor - don't see how any argument could be made than Nate won.

Machida - when the winner says the other guy won, that is all you need to know.

Condit - a fucking disgrace of a decision

Jones- close fight. Had Jones 3-2.

Condit- he clearly won 3 of the rounds IMO.

Frankie- honestly can't remember the fight and don't know if I ever watched it again after the first viewing. It was a close fight. Would have to rewatch it again.

Shogun- clearly won 3 rounds IMO. Walked out of Don't Cherry's the second they announced Machida as the winner.

GSP- easy 29-28 for GSP. There is no legit argument BJ won the first fight other than "I am a BJ Penn fanboy".
 
interesting question

GSP- Hendricks
Gsp 3-2. I never got the outrage for this one. Just because Dana went crazy? Please. Hendricks had the clearer rounds but GSP won 3 out of 5...

Conor- Nate II


3-2 conor. Sorry nate, started too slow

Rampage- Machida

2-1 rampage. Not enough for a 10-8 in the 3rd for machida imo

Lawler-Condit

3-2 condit. Sucks for him tbh. Should have been champ

Gus-Jones


3-2 Jones. Elbow stole it at the end

Condit-Diaz

3-2 condit. Bizzare imo that people think diaz won

Bj-Frankie I

3-2 BJ. Honestly could have been 4-1. I dunno wtf the judges were watching lol

Shogun-Machida I


3-2 either way tbh. Closer than people intially acted like

BJ-GSP 1

Bj 2-1. Sorry. GSP did nothing here.

Condit vs Diaz & No Rush vs BJ 1 : no winner, only losers = us.
 
Interesting...U pay to watch non-fights....
No. :D
My reply was from a different POV. You were talking about the viewers not getting a fight and you're right.
I don't support point fighting to begin with.
 
I actuLly think condit pretty cleary beat lawler

No disrespect to lawler great champion

But condit controlled that fight for the most part
 
interesting question

GSP- Hendricks
Gsp 3-2. I never got the outrage for this one. Just because Dana went crazy? Please. Hendricks had the clearer rounds but GSP won 3 out of 5...

Conor- Nate II


3-2 conor. Sorry nate, started too slow

Rampage- Machida

2-1 rampage. Not enough for a 10-8 in the 3rd for machida imo

Lawler-Condit

3-2 condit. Sucks for him tbh. Should have been champ

Gus-Jones


3-2 Jones. Elbow stole it at the end

Condit-Diaz

3-2 condit. Bizzare imo that people think diaz won

Bj-Frankie I

3-2 BJ. Honestly could have been 4-1. I dunno wtf the judges were watching lol

Shogun-Machida I


3-2 either way tbh. Closer than people intially acted like

BJ-GSP 1

Bj 2-1. Sorry. GSP did nothing here.
GSP Hendricks is all about round 1. I gave it to GSP. But would have no problem with it going the other way.

Rounds 2 and 4 were not close to 10-8 rounds. And GSP clearly won the 5th. The outrage over that fight is retarded.

Conor won. But it was one of those matches where one guy won the match, but the other guy clearly won the fight. For the last 17 minutes of that fight, only one guy was in danger. And the other guy was in survival mode.

Rampage

Lawler

Jones

Condit

BJ. Doug Crosby having that fight 50-45 for Frankie was criminal.

Shogun.

BJ should’ve had it. This fight is unfortunately decided by takedowns. But in this case, Prime BJ Penn was on his back and had more control in the 3rd than GSP did on top. So that should negate the control
Factor that gives takedowns the points.
 
I dont see how gsp beat bj the first time

Seriously gsp did NOTHING in that fight
10-9 Penn
10-9 GSP
10-9 GSP

Penn only won the first round because his punch that clipped and broke Georges' nose. Georges landed the same amount of strikes as BJ did in round 1 but BJ clearly was more effective, he did more damage.

In rounds 2 and 3, he was outstruck and outgrappled.... He lost every facet of MMA in these final 2 rounds.

Georges outstruck BJ overall in the fight and with significant strikes. They had the same amount of strikes landed in round 1 and Georges outlanded BJ in rounds 2 and 3 along with securing more takedowns, landing more head strikes, leg kicks and strikes on the ground.

Please, please indulge me how BJ Penn did anymore more than lose 29-28 in the first fight?
 
Great thread.

GSP-Hendricks: GSP 1,3,5. 4/5 rounds of that fight have a clear winner, but round 1 was close and could have gone either way. I bet money on GSP and was confident at the end that I was going to win. Like I said, I can see how round 1 could be scored differently, and it wouldn't be an outrage either way. GSP correctly won under the 10 point must system though.

Conor-Nate II: Conor round 1, 2, and 4. Don't even see how it's debatable. Nate had a surge in the last minute of round 2 in which he didn't actually connect with many clean shots whereas Conor dropped Nate 2 or 3 times and soundly out-struck him up until that point. He was doing good in round 3 until getting Teed off on (in which Nate landed some good shots, but never rocked/stunned/dropped), preventing that from being a 10-8 round.

Rampage-Machida: Machida rounds 1 and 3. Although rounds 1 and 2 weren't very eventful, Machida's leg kicks were the only strikes of any significance that landed in round 1. Yes, Rampage was advancing, but I'd rather retreat from Rampage than get kicked in the leg by Machida. Believe Rampage landed a decent punch or two in round 2 that swayed it in his favour (in my eyes).

Lawler-Condit: One of the closest fights on this list. When I watched it live I thought Condit, when I re-watched I thought Lawler. I'll have to watch it again someday and update this response.

Gus-Jones: Gustafsson is my favourite LHW and I really don't see how he could have won. Pretty clear 2, 4, 5 for Jones. I did score the DC fight for Gus, but that's neither here nor there.

Condit-Diaz: Condit 3 rounds to 2. Same reasoning as Machida beat Rampage (imo). I would rather walk away from Nick Diaz than get kicked in the leg by Carlos Condit.

BJ-Frankie I: Edgar. This was right when I was getting into MMA, and the only previous time I'd seen Penn fight was when he mutilated Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. I'd never heard of Frankie Edgar, and me and my friends thought he was gonna get smashed. Boy, were we wrong. Competitive scrap for sure. My one buddy I watched it with was a huge Penn hugger (and the reason I started watching MMA), and even he thought BJ was gonna lose before the decision was read. BJ clearly thought the same thing, and we were all right. I'd rank this with Lawler-Condit as being the closest fights on the list, but their subsequent bouts left 0 doubt as to who the superior fighter is.

Shogun-Machida I: Shogun, but by a way narrower margin than everyone says. Would be a good one to watch again. I remember watching it a 2nd time and understanding how Machida got the nod.

GSP-BJ I: Just watched this fight. It doesn't belong on this list. Ridiculously cut-and-dry rounds 2 and 3 for Georges. Even round 1 is way overrated for BJ. Penn was out-boxing him at first and landed a grazing punch just on the tip of GSP's nose that broke it. GSP took control at the end of the round finished it on top. Next two rounds really weren't that competitive (especially the 2nd), with GSP doing his thing and controlling/dictating all of it. BJ was tellingly dejected after the fight, and Eddie Bravo (who UFC had score fights for the audience at the time) had GSP winning. The one and only judge who scored it for Baby Jay? None other than Cecil Fucking Peoples.....the same clown who mystifyingly scored the first Penn-Edgar match 50-45.....tells you all you need to know lol.

EDIT: @XThe GreatestX thanks for a refreshing and actually interesting thread. A person could easily make a couple more volumes of this. Who did you score Whittaker-Romero II for? Curious cus I agree with most of your assessments other than a couple glaring exceptions (BJ-GSP I, that's a really puzzling one)
Thank you

Think i had that a draw. Or romero by a point with 2 10-8s. Cant remember
 
10-9 Penn
10-9 GSP
10-9 GSP

Penn only won the first round because his punch that clipped and broke Georges' nose. Georges landed the same amount of strikes as BJ did in round 1 but BJ clearly was more effective, he did more damage.

In rounds 2 and 3, he was outstruck and outgrappled.... He lost every facet of MMA in these final 2 rounds.

Georges outstruck BJ overall in the fight and with significant strikes. They had the same amount of strikes landed in round 1 and Georges outlanded BJ in rounds 2 and 3 along with securing more takedowns, landing more head strikes, leg kicks and strikes on the ground.

Please, please indulge me how BJ Penn did anymore more than lose 29-28 in the first fight?
Round 1 bj
Round 2 gsp

We agree there. Round 3 tho...depsite gsp landing the takedowns he did nothing with them. Bj worked from the bottom attacking with subs/strikes and pretty much nullified hin.

On the feet it was basically even that round

10-9 bj in the 3rd
 
Round 1 bj
Round 2 gsp

We agree there. Round 3 tho...depsite gsp landing the takedowns he did nothing with them. Bj worked from the bottom attacking with subs/strikes and pretty much nullified hin.

On the feet it was basically even that round

10-9 bj in the 3rd
If he did nothing, how did he land more strikes and outgrapple BJ in the 3rd?
 
GSP- Hendricks
Hendricks 3-2. Very easy fight to score if u arent a Grease nutgobbler

48-47 Johny

Conor- Nate II


Conor 3-2

48-47 Conor

Rampage- Machida

1-1-1 draw. Neither did enough to win the 1st round. CLEAR 10-10 round where both did fuck all. Rd 2 for Hampage, 3 for Lyoto. No 10-8s

29-29 draw

Lawler-Condit

Still dont know TBH. I like Carlos more but i think Lawler won last i watched. Obviously comes down to the 3rd and what one favors b/w damage/harder shots VS volume

48-47 either way is justifiable

Gus-Jones


Same as above. That round 4 is tough to score

Condit-Diaz

3-1-1 Condit. 10-10 round 5. Carlos lit him up for most of the round. Nick got the TD and comfortably won the gurappling but there was a lot more standup that round. Even if u give Nick the 5th for the guround work he won 2 rounds at absolute best

49-47 Condit

Bj-Frankie I

3-1-1 BJ. BJ clearly won the first 3.. Frankie clearly won the 5th. 4th can go either way or a 10-10. Id stick with 10-10 ATM. Even if u give it to Frankie he clearly lost the first 3 rounds and there were no 10-8s so he had no business winning the fight. Bad decision

49-47 BJ

Shogun-Machida I


3-1-1 as well. Except i dont see an argument for Lyoto winning more than the 2nd round, like i do for Frankie at most getting 2. rd 3 a 10-10 but if anyone won it, it was Shogun, and he clearly took rd 1, 4 and 5. Worst decision in UFC history in a title fight and the backlast and virtually all of MMA fighter/media cards giving it to Shogun proved it. There was only a handful that scored it for Lyoto and one was Anderson who said he won all rounds lol

49-47 Shogun

BJ-GSP 1

2-1 GSP. Pretty clear decision TBH.

29-28 Grease
 
Last edited:
GSP- Hendricks
Hendricks 3-2. Very easy fight to score if u arent a Grease nutgobbler

48-47 Johny

Conor- Nate II


Conor 3-2

48-47 Conor

Rampage- Machida

1-1-1 draw. Neither did enough to win the 1st round. CLEAR 10-10 round where both did fuck all. Rd 2 for Hampage, 3 for Lyoto. No 10-8s

29-29 draw

Lawler-Condit

Still dont know TBH. I like Carlos more but i think Lawler won last i watched. Obviously comes down to the 3rd and what one favors b/w damage/harder shots VS volume

48-47 either way is justifiable

Gus-Jones


Same as above. That round 4 is tough to score

Condit-Diaz

3-1-1 Condit. 10-10 round 5. Carlos lit him up for most of the round. Nick got the TD and comfortably won the gurappling but there was a lot more standup that round. Even if u give Nick the 5th for the guround work he won 2 rounds at absolute best

49-47 Condit

Bj-Frankie I

3-1-1 BJ. BJ clearly won the first 3.. Frankie clearly won the 5th. 4th can go either way or a 10-10. Id stick with 10-10 ATM. Even if u give it to Frankie he clearly lost the first 3 rounds and there were no 10-8s so he had no business winning the fight. Bad decision

49-47 BJ

Shogun-Machida I


3-1-1 as well. Except i dont see an argument for Lyoto winning more than the 2nd round, like i do for Frankie at most getting 2. rd 3 a 10-10 but if anyone won it, it was Shogun, and he clearly took rd 1, 4 and 5. Worst decision in UFC history in a title fight and the backlast and virtually all of MMA fighter/media cards giving it to Shogun proved it. There was only a handful that scored it for Lyoto and one was Anderson who said he won all rounds lol

49-47 Shogun

BJ-GSP 1

2-1 GSP. Pretty clear decision TBH.

29-28 Grease
You seem to favor 10-10 quite a bit

I am of the opinion that you should always be able to score a round for one guy. No round is exactly equal

Just my two cents
 
GSP- Hendricks
Not only do I think Hendricks won 3 rounds, I think he won them more clearly than GSP won his. Round 1 was definitely his as he did significantly more damage.

Conor- Nate II

Conor 3-2 and Conor and Nate each have an arguable 10-8 round.

Rampage- Machida
Highlights the flaws of the 10-point must system. 28-28 draw is fair imo.

Lawler-Condit

Need to rewatch but favored Condit live.

Gus-Jones

First 3 rounds could go either way. Gus had his belt spell of the fight in round 4 but then lost the round after eating the elbow. Jones took round 5. Scores could range from 5-0 Jones to 3-2 Gus. So 3-2 or 4-1 Jones is fair imo. Need to pay closer detail to the first 3 rounds to give a specific score.

Condit-Diaz
Condit outpointed him. I don't like it though.

Bj-Frankie I

Gave it BJ live but need to rewatch.

Shogun-Machida I

I was a noob and agreed with commentary and fans that Shogun appeared the victor. But upon rewatchesre thought it coulda gone either way. Havent seen it in years though so need to rewatch again.

BJ-GSP 1

Again, need to rewatch. Looked like GSP took more damage but I didn't score it.
 
Back
Top