Controversy surrounds UFC 167 Main Event
Nov 23, 2013, 12:55 AM
November 16 was supposed to be one of the most memorable nights in UFC history. Not only was the company celebrating its 20th anniversary, but their longest reigning champion Georges St. Pierre was set to put his belt on the line against Johny Hendricks, the man everyone was labeling as his biggest challenge to date.
Combine this with some highly anticipated fights leading up to the main event, and the hype surrounding this fight card was palpable.
But while UFC 167 did end in historic fashion, it will go down as one of the most memorable nights in company history for all the wrong reasons as St. Pierre held managed to hang onto his belt in one of the most controversial decision in mixed martial arts history.
St. Pierre came out looking to take the fight to Hendricks, as he quickly secured a takedown early in round one. But Hendricks, a former NCAA national wresting champion, quickly made it back to his feet. St. Pierre once again looked for another takedown, but Hendricks countered his opponent’s game plan beautifully and managed to land some violent elbows to St. Pierre’s skull, visibly staggering the champion.
“He was very good at countering my game plan. My game plan was to make him fight going backwards, on his toes, because he’s a very powerful puncher,” said St. Pierre. “He closed my eye with one of his strikes, I couldn’t see out of my right eye. He hit very hard.”
Smelling blood, Hendricks pressed the attack and continued to land powerful shots to St. Pierre’s already-swollen head as the opening round came to a close.
The second round opened up just as the first round ended, with Hendricks pushing forward and battering his opponent’s face with his much vaunted left hand. While St. Pierre did manage to get his bearings late in the round, landing some quick jabs and leg kicks, Hendricks kept his composure and didn’t let up the attack until the horn sounded for the end of the round.
But even though Hendricks dictated almost the entire first two rounds, St. Pierre managed to weather the storm and come back strong in the third stanza. Peppering his opponent with everything from lightning fast jabs and powerful superman punches to thunderous quick leg kicks, St. Pierre managed to slow down his opponent’s attack and send him on his heels, preventing Hendricks from closing the gap and landing more punches.
With the tide turning in his favor, a seemingly rejuvenated St. Pierre came out strong in the fourth round. Everything seemed to be going his way until the unthinkable happened: St. Pierre slipped.
With a clear opening, Hendricks pounced and began to rain blows down on his opponent’s head, turning the champion’s face into a bloody mess. St. Pierre would somehow manage to make it back to his feet, but with a blood-soaked face and a swollen right eye, he never got back into the rhythm he was in before he slipped.
Visibly exhausted and with the momentum completely in his opponent’s favor, St. Pierre had difficulty landing any offense in the final round as Hendricks countered almost every move the champion threw at him. This was until St. Pierre landed a powerful straight right to his opponent’s face, which dropped him to the canvas. St. Pierre, sensing his belt was on the line, did everything he could to finish the fight until the horn signaled the end of the fight.
Hendricks, knowing he dominated the majority of the fight, leapt to his feet and raised his arms in triumph, sensing the UFC welterweight championship was about to find a new home.
But to the amazement of everyone, the judges declared St. Pierre the winner, retaining the title by split decision.
The controversial scorecard from UC 167’s main event, giving St. Pierre the split decision.
