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Valentina Shevchenko edged out a razor-close split decision victory over Brazil's Taila Santos in the co-main event of UFC 275.
The challenger dominated early on and looked like she was on her way to staging an upset. However, the champion rallied back in the second half, convincing two of the three judges that she had done enough to retain the belt. Two judges scored the contest 48-47 and 49-46 for Shevchenko, while the dissenter had it 48-47 for Santos.
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Based on the betting odds, the outcome shouldn't have come as a surprise. But the vast majority of those who watched the fight vehemently disagreed with the decision, believing that Santos was robbed of a victory.
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Several personalities from the MMA world were also behind Santos. Check out how the pros reacted to the controversial ending of the UFC 275 co-main event.
MMA Twitter reacts to Valentina Shevchenko's controversial win over Taila Santos
Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo prefaced his assessment by claiming that he's a huge fan of Valentina Shevchenko. Nonetheless, 'Triple C' believes it's ridiculous to think Shevchenko won, and even worse, award her four out of the five rounds. He tweeted:
"I love Valentina and I’m a fan of Valentina, but the scoring criteria needs to improve. Keep the sport honest people. 49-46?!?"
Middleweight contender Derek Brunson and Bellator light heavyweight star Corey Anderson echoed Cejudo's sentiments. Brunson suggested that the judges did Taila Santos dirty with their scoring, while Anderson was in disbelief with the result.
Former UFC women's featherweight titleholder and current Bellator 145-pound champ Cris Cyborg was apparently livid with the result. She took to Twitter to express her disappointment.
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling admitted that he wasn't in the best position to make a sound assessment of the fight. 'Funk Master' promised to rewatch the bout once the alcohol leaves his system.
Ex-UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos posted his reaction seconds before the official announcement was made. He thought his fellow Brazilian did enough to win, but he was clearly proven wrong by the judges.
Raquel Pennington argued that Santos deserves a rematch. Meanwhile, Marion Reneau and Lando Vannata pointed out that the match was clearly a robbery.
