Former Strikeforce champ Josh Thompson wasn’t impressed with the commentary during last weekend’s UFC 288 main event.
Saturday’s pay-per-view event in New Jersey featured a fight for the men’s bantamweight title that featured former reigning champion Henry Cejudo (16-3 MMA) taking on reigning champ Aljamain Sterling (23-3 MMA).
“Triple C” was looking to regain the 135 pound title he had never lost, while “Funkmaster” was looking to make history by becoming the first heavyweight champ to record three consecutive title defenses.
The highly anticipated main event UFC 288 went the full five rounds and after twenty-five minutes fans and fighters alike seemed divided over who actually won the contest. Ultimately, the judges also split the decision, as Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47).
In addition to the scorecard controversy, fight fans have also expressed displeasure with the work the UFC’s pay-per-view commentary team has done on Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan, and Jon Anik.
Former UFC fighter and current Bellator analyst Josh Thompson was one of many who expressed his frustration.
“[Cejudo] He did nothing wrong, and he made no mistakes.” Thompson said. “I was getting a little angry at some of the comments. Because they kept saying like, ‘Oh, leg kicks have an effect.’ He wasn’t changing positions, he wasn’t swaying, he wasn’t limping, he wasn’t limping. What are you talking about? Yeah, they hurt. I’m sure They hurt. But he didn’t show anything saying his leg was hurt… I mean if you’re going to start out by saying that’s what happened, then—I don’t want to say, they don’t misrepresent the audience listening at home.”
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“But that bothered me a little bit, the leg kick thing bothered me a little bit and then also, like DC…he was saying Henry needs to get those rounds, he’s kind of fighting from behind. I didn’t look at it that way. I looked at it like IF THEY BOTH NEED – If I’m hanging on, I need to say “Both guys need to prove they win these rounds convincingly.”
How do you feel about the commentary work of Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan and Jon Agnick during last weekend’s UFC 288 main event? Share your thoughts in the PENN Nation comments section!