UFC commentator Jon Anik was calling the UFC 314 main event featuring Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. After the third round, Anik believed Volkanovski was ahead with a score of 30-27. However, not everyone shared his opinion.
Anik was the lead commentator for the UFC pay-per-view event, joined by Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan for color commentary. The event`s highlight was Volkanovski`s unanimous decision victory to reclaim the featherweight title. Following the main event, Rogan jokingly suggested that matchmaker Sean Shelby should be “drug tested” due to his disagreement with Anik`s assessment of the fight`s initial rounds. Anik discussed the origins of this moment.
“During the broadcast, near the end of the 3rd round, I mentioned that Diego Lopes might need to take action as he was in danger of being down 3-0,” Anik explained to MMA Fighting. “I wasn`t directly aware of Sean Shelby`s reaction at the time, but Daniel Cormier pointed it out to me. When I looked down, I saw Maynard and Shelby looking at me as if I was incompetent, though I stand by my observations.”
“Since then, I`ve reviewed the fourth round and considered that I might have been somewhat unfair in my criticism of judge Sal D’Amato. While I sometimes struggle to reconcile my understanding with official scoring, I believe Shelby was mistaken at that moment, respectfully, in thinking Diego Lopes might have been leading 2-1.”
Volkanovski secured the win with two scorecards of 49-46 and one of 48-47, marking a significant championship victory. Volkanovski, known as “The Great,” performed impressively for most of the fight, except for being knocked down in the second round and absorbing a strong punch in the fourth that momentarily stunned the now multiple-time world champion.
After rewatching the fight, Anik acknowledges that there`s a valid argument for scoring the fight as a clean sweep for Volkanovski, despite Lopes` impactful moments.
“Based on my re-examination and further analysis of the scoring, I see a case for a 50-45 score for Volkanovski,” Anik stated. “To put it briefly, the most significant strike of the fight landed in round 4, and respectfully, Diego Lopes perhaps missed an opportunity by not capitalizing on it. However, Volkanovski still landed twice as many strikes in that round.”
“I can now understand why Sal might have scored that round for Volkanovski. But I still question whether landing the fight`s biggest strike and nearly finishing your opponent should automatically lose you the round.”
“Ultimately, I scored rounds 1, 2, 3, and 5 in favor of Volkanovski.”
