10 worst judges' decisions in UFC history

#6 BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno, UFC 41 – February 28th, 2003

By robbing BJ Penn of a win over Caol Uno, the judges caused the UFC to freeze the Lightweight division

It was the decision that practically killed the UFC Lightweight division for almost two years. Eighteen months after the judges failed to recognize that BJ Penn had clearly outpointed Caol Uno for the vacant 155lbs title at UFC 41, the division was put on ice until March 2006, and a new champion wasn’t crowned until that October.

Penn and Uno had beaten Matt Serra and Din Thomas respectively to earn the right to fight for the title vacated by champion Jens Pulver, but as they’d already faced off once before – Penn knocking Uno out in seconds – the Hawaiian was the clear favorite coming in. And the fight appeared to play out that way too.

‘The Prodigy’ took Uno’s back in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds and largely dominated proceedings every time the fight hit the ground. And he also seemed to get the better of the striking exchanges too, bloodying the Japanese fighter up throughout the contest. Uno perhaps took the second round with a couple of strong takedowns, but at best he should’ve lost a 49-46 decision.

Instead, the judges inexplicably scored the fight a split draw – one judge going 48-46 for Penn, one 48-47 for Uno and the third 48-48. Quite how they reached those scores remains a mystery to anyone who’s watched the fight, as Penn clearly warranted a victory. Instead, the title remained on ice and Penn ended up moving to 170lbs for his next fight. It was a bizarre call that makes no more sense over a decade on.