MMA Knockout

UFC Star Wants Judge Barred From Title Fights Following Sterling vs. Cejudo

One UFC star doesn't want to see a particular judge on duty for title fights again.

Fernando Quiles Jr.

(via Zuffa LLC)

One UFC fighter is calling for a judge to be relieved of his duties, at least when it comes to title fights.

This past Saturday night (May 6), a UFC Bantamweight Championship fight headlined UFC 288. It was Aljamain Sterling putting his 135-pound gold at stake against the returning Henry Cejudo. This was Cejudo's first bout in three years, and while he was highly competitive, he fell short via split decision.

The three judges at Octagon side were Michael Bell, Derek Clearly, and Eric Colon. Bell scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Cejudo, but his title was overruled by the 48-47 scores from Clearly and Colon in favor of Sterling.

READ MORE: UFC 288 Results: Aljamain Sterling Edges Henry Cejudo in Razor-Thin Title Fight

The final scorecards were released and UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum was baffled by Derek Clearly's judging. He took to his Twitter account to call for the removal of Clearly from the judges table.

"Yo! Derek Cleary needs to be removed from his position of ever judging a Championship fight forever!!"

Fight fans have bashed Clearly, not so much for scoring the fight for Sterling. The main issue fight fans have with the judge is that he scored the final round 10-9 for the "Funk Master." The general consensus is that Cejudo won the final round by a decent margin.

The paths for Sterling and Cejudo following their UFC 288 title fight appear to be clear. Sterling is expected to make his next title defense against Sean O'Malley at some point this year. As for Cejudo, he initially mulled a second retirement, but he's since called for a showdown with Sterling's teammate and close friend, Merab Dvalishvili.

READ MORE: Sean O'Malley On Aljamain Sterling Fight: "I'm Gonna Snipe This Dude"

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Fernando Quiles Jr.
FERNANDO QUILES JR.

Fernando has over a decade of combat sports news writing experience. He currently covers MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. Fernando joined MMA Knockout as the Lead Writer/Editor when it was founded in 2023.

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