Few things frustrate MMA fans more than a fight being scored incorrectly, though the term “robbery” is often used carelessly and is frequently influenced by personal bias. In this edition of Robbery Review, we examine controversial bouts to determine if the judges` decisions were truly questionable or if critics are reacting impulsively.
Jose Aldo was robbed.
Ah… it feels good to just say that, doesn`t it? In what is potentially the final fight of the legend`s career, Aldo came incredibly close to securing a finish that would rank among the highlights of his celebrated career. Even without it, it felt like he had done enough to earn a decision victory against the surging Aiemann Zahabi.
Alas. All three judges scored the fight for Zahabi, a verdict made even more painful by Aldo`s near-finish in Round 3 and having to witness the exhausted 38-year-old survive a brutal ground-and-pound assault in the final moments of the bout. Shortly after, Aldo announced his retirement, marking the end of one of the most brilliant runs in combat sports history that we`ve had the privilege to witness.
Fighters offered heartfelt farewells to Aldo, but there was also significant outrage regarding the scoring.
Regardless of whether you agree with the judges, this is undoubtedly the most disputed UFC result of 2025 so far. Therefore, we are obligated to put it through the Robbery Review analysis.
Aiemann Zahabi defeated Jose Aldo via unanimous decision.
We will focus on reviewing Round 2, as it proved to be the swing round, and the chaotic events of Round 3, but let`s briefly touch upon the opening frame as well.
Round 1 was vintage Aldo. He immediately claimed the center of the octagon and stalked the circling Zahabi. Aldo was the first to attack, landing quick combinations that tested Zahabi`s defense. Later, as Zahabi began to loosen up, Aldo stayed a step ahead with his excellent counter game and some playful head movement.
Now, Round 2. Zahabi built upon the momentum from the end of Round 1, starting with a nice combination including a knee to the body and a left hand. Aldo advanced, leading with his jab and a low kick. Zahabi also utilized leg kicks effectively, even with Aldo poised to counter. The jab exchange seemed to slightly favor Aldo, though Zahabi had success working from distance as well. Then there was Aldo`s body work, which included a sharp left hand rip to the ribs.
Credit must be given to Zahabi, who was willing to absorb a strike to land one. The head movement Aldo displayed at the end of Round 1 was less prominent, allowing many of Zahabi`s jabs to land cleanly. The dynamic of the fight also shifted slightly, with Zahabi taking on the role of the aggressor.
Two minutes into the round, Zahabi landed the first of two low blows that went unpunished. Regardless of intent, it was frustrating.
Aldo`s jabs and counters were very accurate, but I can see how this round was challenging to score, given Zahabi`s success moving forward. Did he have *more* success than Aldo? It`s unclear.
The second low blow occurred with about a minute left in the round. After a longer pause this time, Aldo resumed fighting with another left to the body. Zahabi responded with a jab that snapped Aldo`s head back. Becoming bolder, Zahabi stepped directly into Aldo`s range and invited an exchange. This gamble paid off as he landed his best strike of the round, a counter right hand directly to Aldo`s renowned chin. Aldo shook it off. He concluded the round with a flying knee that lacked significant power, hinting at what was to come.
Round 3 was defined by two key sequences: one a moment of pure excitement, the other a difficult scene to watch.
After approximately 90 seconds of back-and-forth action, Aldo stunned Zahabi with a straight right hand. He followed up with a knee to the jaw that sent Zahabi stumbling and put him in the perfect position for a soccer kick. Yes, a perfectly timed, perfectly legal Jose Aldo soccer kick that connected directly with the front of Zahabi`s face. Zahabi went down but immediately sprang back up less than a second later.
Aldo didn`t let up, throwing wild punches and landing another right that wobbled Zahabi. A running knee and more punches put Zahabi into survival mode, and guess what? He survived! With three minutes remaining in the fight, this is where things went downhill for Aldo, who was visibly exhausted. Zahabi easily stuffed a desperate takedown attempt and pushed Aldo to the ground, where he gained top position and remained there for the rest of the round.
Zahabi was content to work from inside Aldo`s closed guard, landing ground-and-pound, including elbows that cut Aldo open. Aldo stayed active enough to avoid a fight-ending blow or a stoppage, but the clock must have felt like it was moving in slow motion for him.
It was reminiscent of his fight with Mark Hominick at UFC 129, except this time Aldo didn`t have a comfortable lead. He made it to the final buzzer, but the real disappointment was still to come.
Mike Bell, Pasquale Procopio, and David Therien all scored it 29-28 for Zahabi, giving Round 1 to Aldo and Rounds 2 and 3 to Zahabi.
(Statistics are per UFC Stats)
I don`t expect the statistics to reveal much beyond what was obvious, but let`s take a closer look.
Total significant strikes heavily favor Zahabi (99-68), but this number is clearly inflated by Zahabi`s late onslaught. He outscored Aldo 52-20 in Round 3, with 25 of those strikes being ground strikes. Excluding ground strikes, Aldo won R1 23-21, Zahabi won Round 2 26-25, and Zahabi also won Round 3 27-20 (standing strikes only).
Aldo was officially credited with one knockdown in the third round. Some people have argued there were three knockdowns, but reviewing the footage, I only see the knockdown from the soccer kick.
The right hand and knee certainly wobbled Zahabi, but it`s unclear if he was actually dropped. Then, after the soccer kick knockdown, Aldo rushed in with another kick that sent Zahabi scrambling, but he didn`t go down.
As you may know, us media members are quite fond of Aldo, and we were largely supporting him in this fight. Sixteen out of 20 scores submitted to MMA Decisions favored Aldo 29-28, with two scoring it 29-28 for Zahabi and two scoring it a draw (ESPN`s Phil Murphy clarified his score was due to a 10-8 round for Zahabi in the third).
(Data derived from MMA Decisions and Verdict MMA)
On MMA Decisions, 62.4 percent of votes are for 29-28 Aldo, with 29-28 Zahabi significantly behind at 13.4 percent. Another 10.3 percent voted for 30-27 Aldo.
On the Verdict MMA app, fans agreed that the fight was incredibly close.
Verdict scoring had Aldo winning 28.72 to 28.24, a margin of only 48 points – hardly a difference that warrants angry tweets, right?
I scored this fight live as it happened and had it 29-28 for Aldo.
After re-watching it with the ability to pause and rewind? Still 29-28 for Aldo.
Frankly, not much changed for me upon review. Round 2 was the round that required extra scrutiny, and I found it just as difficult to discern after analyzing it closely. The difference for me came down to a few damaging Aldo jabs and a couple of powerful body shots. But Zahabi landed plenty of clean punches too, so scoring the round for him is completely fair.
I see many people saying they would have also given Aldo Round 3, but I cannot agree. The flurry involving the soccer kick he unleashed on Zahabi was amazing to watch, and in an ideal world, Aldo would have been rewarded for connecting so cleanly to Zahabi`s face. But Zahabi recovered and took control after that.
I don`t see how anyone can watch Aldo being dominated on the ground for two full minutes and score that round for him. If we prioritize immediate impact, then Aldo gets significant points for nearly finishing the fight, but I would argue Zahabi was just as close, if not closer, to earning a stoppage himself. Perhaps it was fatigue and Father Time playing a role, but Zahabi did his part to wear down and bloody Aldo. Again, Zahabi recovered quite quickly from Aldo`s best shot. Aldo, however, never recovered once he was in deep trouble.
That painful image of a bruised Aldo sitting against the cage in disappointment didn`t look like a man upset about a decision. It looked like someone who knew he hadn`t done quite enough.
Not a robbery. And it has never felt worse to write that conclusion.
