While I thought UFC 86 was a solid, if unspectacular PPV offering, any momentum the show had was killed off by the erratic performance of the judges in the final two fights last night. If you read any of my live coverage last night, you know that I had both Almeida and and Rampage winning their fights.

As someone who was, quite honestly, rooting for Rampage Jackson, I decided to take a respite from blogging immediately after the show, and then re-watch the last two fights this afternoon with a clear head and see if I came to a different conclusion about each decision. Of course, I focused on the rounds in question: round two of the Côté/Almeida fight, and rounds one, three and five of the Jackson/Griffin fight.

Ricardo Almeida v. Patrick Côté

The first round was clearly dominated by Almeida, and was not in question. He used his jiu-jitsu to frustrate Côté, and dominated the pace of the fight with the clench. He also scored a clear takedown on Côté, and hit some nice ground-and-pound. Round one has to go 10-9 to Almeida.

On further examination, the second round was very, very close, but I still believe Almeida controlled the round. Almeida drug Côté to the ground early in the round, and held dominant position for a moment. Côté did push forward, but Almeida avoided most of his blows. In fact, to me, it appeared that Almeida was baiting Côté into pushing forward so that he could attempt at takedown–you could see this in the way that he was constantly lowering his defense. Near the end of the round, Almeida almost locked in a guillotine. Côté’s only real offense in the round was the big punch at the end of the round that knocked Almeida down momentarily.

The third round obviously went to Côté–it’s not in question. He was pushing the action and Almeida was clearly out of steam at that point.

So in my opinion, this fight should have been scored 29-28, Ricardo Almeida. Conservatively, you could even rule the second round a draw, meaning it would have been 29-29. Still, here’s what the judges came up with:

• Tony Weeks scored the contest 29-28, Côté
• Glen Trowbridge scored it, 29-28, Almeida
• Patrica Morse Jarman scored it 29-28, Côté

So Côté won by split decision, but why? My guess is that the two judges that scored it for Côté were biased toward striking, which always seems to be a problem in MMA. I guess they felt that Côté landing one blow at the end of round two was enough to steal the round from Almeida. I disagree. I still feel that this fight should have gone to Almeida, or even conservatively been ruled a draw.

On a sidenote, I actually enjoyed this fight. Joe Rogan called it a “tactical battle,” which many might interpret to mean it was boring, but it truly was a tactical battle between a ground specialist and a striker–the essence of MMA. That begs the question, who was the more tactical fighter in this fight? To me, it was Ricardo Almeida.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson v. Forrest Griffin

Let’s do this one in reverse. Before I go through each round, here’s how the judges specifically scored the fight, courtesy of Dave Meltzer:

• Adalaide Byrd who scored it 48-46, gave 4 and 5 to Jackson and Griffin 1, 2 and 3 with 2 as 10-8
• Nelson Hamilton had it 48-46 with 1 and 4 for Jackson, and Griffin getting 2 10-8
• Roy Silbert had it 49-46 with only round 4 for Jackson.

Let’s look at round one. Keep in mind, only Nelson Hamilton gave Quinton Jackson this round. Both guys landed shots early in the round. Forrest had some nice leg kicks, and Jackson responded with some huge punches. Then, with about a minute left in the round, Jackson hurt Griffin with a big hook, knocking him flat on his butt. Rampage then controlled Griffin on the ground. The exchanged some nice blows to close the round. This round was pretty close, with both Griffin and Jackson getting their shots in. Still, I think you have to look at who was more effective with their striking–based on the fact that Jackson knocked Griffin on his butt with about a minute left in the round, I don’t see how you can’t give this round to Jackson, 10-9.

Round two was not in question. Griffin hurt Jackson’s leg, and controlled him on the ground for the majority of the round. I think it was such a beating by Griffin that you give the round to Griffin, 10-8. Two judges–Byrd and Hamilton–agreed. I can’t believe that Silbert didn’t give Griffin this round, 10-8.

Now, back to round 3. Remember, all three judges gave this round to Griffin. After Griffin savaged Jackson’s leg in round 3, Jackson was actually able to recover in this round. This round was again all stand-up, with both guys landing shots, so you have to look at effectiveness of striking. And again, Jackson landed some bombs, and landed cleaner shots throughout the round. In fact, I was shocked that Forrest nearly abandoned attacking Rampage’s leg in this round. Griffin did land a nice combo right before the end of the round, but Rampage answered it with some nice blows of his own. Again, based on effectiveness of striking, I think you go with Jackson. Most of Griffin’s leg kicks in this round were not crisp. 10-9 Jackson, in my opinion.

On to round 4. I don’t think this round is in question. All three judges gave the round to Jackson–he landed some big shots on Griffin, and scored a nice takedown. Jackson also turned a deep triangle choke into a powerbomb. 10-9 Jackson, if you’re scoring at home.

Now on to the final round. Remember, Byrd gave this round to Jackson, but the other two judges gave it to Griffin. After watching this round three times, I can’t tell you who won. Both men landed some shots, and both men traded. There’s no way you can say one guy clearly came out on top in round five. In fact, I challenge you to watch this round again and present any sort of evidence on one man clearly winning the round. I think this round had to be scored a 10-10 draw. Unfortunately, none of the judges saw it that way.

My final tally gives me this score:  48-47, Rampage Jackson. I can even see the judges somehow ruling the bout a draw. But Forrest Griffin winning by unanimous decision, with that kind of margin? It just doesn’t make sense. In my opinion, it was highway robbery.

That being said, I don’t think it was some kind of “rigged” fight, as many crazed Rampage fans have already said on various blogs and forums across the Internet. I just think it was poor judging. In this fight, Forrest Griffin just didn’t do enough to take the title from Jackson–only the judges did.