It’s clear that Khabib Nurmagomedov wasn’t a fan of the verdict of the Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan bout.
O’Malley and Yan shared the Octagon on the main card of UFC 280. The two delivered three rounds of exciting action. Many media members scored the fight in favor of Yan, but two of the three judges Octagonside did not agree. O’Malley was awarded the split decision victory.
A video posted by Red Corner MMA shows Nurmagomedov’s live reaction to the score totals being read. It’s obvious that he wasn’t thrilled with the decision.
Khabib reacts to Sean O’Malley’s split decision victory over Petr Yan. pic.twitter.com/lKBgU5NDvZ
— FullCombat (@FullCombat_) October 23, 2022
“How? How? No, how?” Nurmagomedov asked. “How is it possible, brother? I swear I gave him every round. It was close, but he won every round.”
During the UFC 280 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White shared his belief that the fight was very close (h/t Sportskeeda).
“It was one of those razor-thin close fights. I could see people saying Yan won the fight and I could see people saying O’Malley won the fight. What’s weird is, it wasn’t the way I thought it was with the judges scorecard. I thought depending on who you gave the first round to, determined who won the fight. But that was not the case, apparently.”
This is the first time Yan has suffered back-to-back losses in his pro MMA career. It’s also the fourth loss on his record. As for O’Malley, it’s the biggest victory of his career. He improves his record to 16-1, 1 NC. Going into the fight, O’Malley was the number 11-ranked UFC bantamweight, while Yan held the number one spot.