Early Morning Ponderings: The Hamill Vs. Bisping disaster...I mean finish...I mean desasterous finish!

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I just can't escape the 29-28, 27-30, 29-28 Michael Bisping decision over Matt Hamill.

It just doesn't make sense, just like the Chewbacca defense doesn't make sense but on a much less funny way. I was talking to Ric Gillespie before I saw the fight, and he was telling me how he doesn't usually question split decisions but that this was so bad he'd make an allowance. I don't usually question split decisions either because that typically means a fight is close and close fights could go either way. I didn't agree with Griffin over Guida at UFC 72 but that was a close fight.

This fight wasn't that close. Maybe, maybe, you give Bisping round 3 but I didn't. Hamill out wrestled him and he out boxed him. Hamill was the aggressor and he dictated the pace. In the 9 rounds that were scored by 3 judges, Hamill won 5 of them. If you add their totals up Hamill got 86 points and Bisping 85 and yet somehow, Hamill lost?

If you go by Pride judging where it isn't round-by-round but on the fight as a whole, how then can you give it to Bisping? Thing is, I've read the argument about how this proves Pride judging criteria is superior. However, I still think Bisping lost under UFC criteria and only one of 3 judges was able to figure it out.

I think that the IOC had better call those judges for Figure Skating in 2010. I know people will say that the UFC has to be happy because now they can book a rematch. Well, they've also made people suspicious that whenever they run overseas, or in a main eventer's hometown there will be a hometown advantage. Whether it is fair or not, the fact is perception is reality for most people.
The worst part of it is that this is what the show will be remembered for on the whole. It was a pretty entertaining fight, the main event was great, Davis-Taylor was fun and Houston Alexander is spectacular.
But, I can think of no better analogy for this situation than the following. Say you buy a dozen roses for your significant other, at just the right time and they look beautiful. It scores points for sure. Only before you give them the roses you take the flowers to a room full of frightened skunks and leave them awhile. Then you go back for the roses and finally deliver them to your significant other. I'll bet you anything, the way they look isn't going to be the thing they remember for very long. The stentch on this show is overpowering. When I think back on this show, it will be the Hamill got screwed show and that's a real shame.
I don't know what can be done. I don't know that you can prevent another terrible decision from happening again. It is probably an unavoidable part of the game, but that sure doesn't make it suck any less or make it any easier to explain.

As for Bisping's cocky promo after the fight, I don't see what he had to be cocky about. This decision was so wrong that people in the building, his hometown crowd so to speak turned on him. This prick should drop to middleweight and I favor an immediate match with Anderson Silva so Mr. Bisping can have some much needed facial rearrangement so he can lookas good as his woman.

Terrible judging, plain and simple. He was outclassed in every way, backing away isn't a good sign of Octagon control to me, and he was most definitely not the aggressor...and this is the winner?

Thumbs broken and flushed down the toilet for that judging.

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