MMA enthusiasts often become highly agitated when a fight is perceived to be scored incorrectly, though the label “robbery” is frequently applied loosely and often reflects personal bias. In this analysis, we delve into controversial fight results to determine if the judges` decisions were genuinely questionable or if observers reacted prematurely.
Jose Aldo was robbed. There, I said it.
It feels good to just state it, doesn`t it? In what appears to be the swansong of the legend`s career, Aldo came incredibly close to delivering a knockout that would have been a highlight reel staple. Even without achieving the finish, it felt like his performance was sufficient to earn him the win on the scorecards against the surging Aiemann Zahabi.
Unfortunately, all three judges ruled in favor of Zahabi. This outcome was made particularly hard to swallow considering Aldo`s near-stoppage moment in Round 3 and the visual of the exhausted 38-year-old warrior surviving a brutal ground-and-pound barrage in the final moments of the contest. Shortly after, Aldo announced his retirement, bringing to a close one of the most remarkable careers combat sports has ever seen.
Fellow fighters sent heartfelt tributes to Aldo, but simultaneously, significant frustration was voiced regarding the scoring of the bout.
Regardless of whether one agrees with the judges` verdict, this fight result stands as the most debated so far in the UFC in 2025. Thus, we are compelled to put it under the microscope for review.
Fight Outcome
Aiemann Zahabi defeated Jose Aldo via unanimous decision.
Round Analysis
For this re-watch, we`ll primarily focus on the second round, as it proved to be the decisive “swing” round on the scorecards, as well as the chaotic third round. However, let`s first touch on the opening frame.
Round 1 was signature Aldo. He immediately claimed the center of the octagon, applying pressure to the circling Zahabi. Aldo landed the first significant strikes with quick combinations that tested Zahabi`s defense. Later, as Zahabi began to open up, Aldo maintained control with his sharp counter-striking and fluid head movement.
Now, onto Round 2. Zahabi built on the momentum he generated towards the end of Round 1, starting with a nice combo that included a knee to the body and a left hand. Aldo pushed back, leading with his jab and a low kick. Zahabi also utilized effective leg kicks, even with Aldo prepared to counter. The jab exchange seemed slightly in Aldo`s favor, though Zahabi had moments of success striking from range. Aldo also targeted the body well, landing a clean left hand to the ribs.
Credit must be given to Zahabi for his willingness to absorb a strike to land one of his own. The defensive head movement Aldo displayed in Round 1 was less evident, allowing many of Zahabi`s jabs to connect cleanly. The dynamic of the fight shifted as well, with Zahabi becoming the fighter pressing forward.
About two minutes into the round, Zahabi landed the first of two low blows that went unpenalized. Whether intentional or accidental, it was certainly frustrating.
Aldo`s jabs and counters were precise, but it`s clear how this round could be difficult to score, with Zahabi finding success pushing the action. Did he have more success than Aldo? It remains unclear.
The second low blow occurred with roughly a minute remaining. After a more extended pause, Aldo resumed, landing another left hand to the body. Zahabi responded with a jab that snapped Aldo`s head back. Growing more confident, Zahabi stepped directly into Aldo`s range, inviting a trade. This gamble paid off as he landed his best punch of the round, a counter right hand directly on Aldo`s famous chin. Aldo absorbed it well. He finished the round with a flying knee that lacked significant power, perhaps an early sign of fatigue.
Round 3 was defined by two distinct phases: one moment of thrilling offense from Aldo, followed by a difficult period for him.
After about 90 seconds of back-and-forth exchanges, Aldo rocked Zahabi with a straight right hand. He followed with a knee to the jaw that sent Zahabi stumbling, putting him in ideal position for a soccer kick. Yes, a perfectly timed, perfectly legal Jose Aldo soccer kick landed flush on the front of Zahabi`s face. Zahabi went down but sprung back up in less than a second.
Aldo pursued relentlessly, throwing aggressively and landing another right hand that wobbled Zahabi. A running knee and additional punches put Zahabi in pure survival mode, and remarkably, he survived! With three minutes left, this is where the fight deteriorated for Aldo, who was visibly drained. Zahabi easily defended a desperate takedown attempt and pushed Aldo to the canvas, where he gained top position and maintained control for the remainder of the round.
Zahabi was content to work from inside Aldo`s closed guard, landing ground-and-pound, including elbows that opened cuts on Aldo. Aldo remained active enough to avoid a definitive fight-ending shot or stoppage, but the final minutes must have felt excruciatingly long for him.
The situation echoed his fight against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, though in this instance, Aldo didn`t hold a comfortable lead heading into the final minutes. He made it to the final buzzer, but the true disappointment was still to come.
The Official Scores
Judges Mike Bell, Pasquale Procopio, and David Therien all scored the fight 29-28 for Zahabi. They awarded Round 1 to Aldo and Rounds 2 and 3 to Zahabi.
Statistical Overview
While statistics may not always tell the full story, let`s look at the numbers briefly.
Total significant strikes heavily favored Zahabi (99-68), but this number is clearly influenced by Zahabi`s dominant late round 3 output. He out-landed Aldo 52-20 in significant strikes in Round 3, with 25 of those being ground strikes. When considering only standing strikes, Aldo won Round 1 (23-21), Zahabi won Round 2 (26-25), and Zahabi also won Round 3 (27-20).
Aldo was officially credited with one knockdown in the third round. Although some claimed three, reviewing the footage suggests only the strike resulting from the soccer kick caused a clear knockdown.
The preceding right hand and knee wobbled Zahabi, but it`s not definitive that he was dropped. After the soccer kick knockdown, Aldo again pressed forward with another kick that caused Zahabi to scramble, but he didn`t go down a second time.
Community Reaction
It`s widely known that many in the media community have a fondness for Aldo, and opinion among them largely favored him winning this contest. A significant majority of unofficial media scorecards submitted favored Aldo, typically by a 29-28 margin, with only a minority scoring it for Zahabi or as a draw.
Similarly, public consensus reflected on scoring platforms also leaned towards Aldo winning 29-28, although there was notable support for other scorecards, including some for Zahabi. Fan scoring aggregates indicated how closely the fight was perceived, with only marginal differences in the average scores awarded to each fighter.
Reviewer`s Analysis
Scoring this fight live, my assessment was 29-28 for Aldo. After reviewing the fight with the benefit of pausing and rewinding? My score remained 29-28 for Aldo.
Frankly, my perspective didn`t change much upon closer review. Round 2 was the most debatable and required added scrutiny, but even after examining it closely, it remained incredibly difficult to definitively score. For me, the slight difference came down to a few Aldo jabs that seemed to have more impact and a couple of powerful body shots. However, Zahabi also landed plenty of clean strikes, making a score for him in that round entirely reasonable.
I`ve seen many people argue they would also have given Aldo Round 3, but I cannot reach that conclusion. The sequence where he landed the soccer kick was spectacular, and in an ideal world focused solely on fight-ending moments, Aldo might be heavily rewarded for that. But Zahabi recovered effectively and subsequently took control.
It`s difficult to justify scoring the round for Aldo when he spent the final two minutes absorbing ground-and-pound. If the focus is solely on immediate impact, then Aldo`s near-finish earns him big points, but I would argue that Zahabi`s sustained control and damage later in the round brought him equally close, if not closer, to securing a stoppage himself. While fatigue undoubtedly played a role for Aldo, Zahabi capitalized effectively to wear him down and inflict damage. Crucially, Zahabi recovered quickly from Aldo`s best shot, whereas Aldo never managed to regain composure or control once put in a difficult situation.
Conclusion
The difficult image of a bruised Aldo sitting slumped against the cage, clearly disappointed, didn`t appear to me as someone primarily frustrated by the judges` decision. Instead, it looked like a fighter who understood he hadn`t quite done enough to secure the victory.
Therefore, despite the widespread controversy and how personally disappointing the outcome feels, this fight was not a “robbery.” And concluding that feels particularly unpleasant to write.
