Who is Hadi Mohamed Ali? MMA judge's 30-27 scorecard for first fight of UFC 308 sparks outrage

Hadi Mohamed Ali was one of three judges who presided over UFC 308's opening fight. Rinat Fakhretdinov faced Carlos Leal in a three-round welterweight contest, which ended with the former emerging victorious via unanimous decision. The scorecards, however, have drawn particular interest on social media.

Fakhretdinov won due to a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 tally. The fight, however, was more competitive than the scorecards let on. Judge David Lethaby scored round one in the loser's favor, while judge Mike Bell scored the second round in loser's favor. Curiously, Ali verdict was far different from those of his colleagues.

He scored none of the three rounds for Leal, marking it a 10-9 for Fakhretdinov every step of the way. However, in response to his scorecard, Ali's merit as a judge has been called into question. Ali is not an inexperienced judge, though this is his first stint presiding over a UFC fight.

As a Saudi-based judge, he has worked with the PFL and Bellator since the former's acquisition of the latter. In fact, Ali was one of three judges who scored high-profile fights like Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco.

He also judged Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards. He also doubles as an occasional referee. Unfortunately, he has now found himself in the ranks of controversial judges like Sal D'Amato and Chris Lee, who have both been accused of biased judging, drawing the ire of the MMA world, and on occasion, UFC CEO Dana White himself.

However, given the UFC's relationship with Saudi Arabia, it is unlikely that White will speak ill of Ali in public. But for now, Fakhretdinov will enjoy his win, while Ali will have to rectify his questionable judging as the card plays out, lest he find himself at the center of more judging-based controversies.