Serhiy Sidey left UFC Edmonton with a victory, despite his doubts at the final bell.
Sidey faced Garrett Armfield in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night in Edmonton. He was awarded a split decision win after three rounds, a decision that many in the MMA community disagreed with.
Close fight but I felt Armfield took RDs 1&3. Another reason why judges should explain their ruling so that us fighters and coaches can assess the fights in real time to help us make decisions to possibly win back the RD or finish the fight.
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 2, 2024
Ain’t no way bruh lmfao I’m mad for armfield
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 2, 2024
Wow. These judges continue to screw guys!
— Michael Johnson (@Menace155) November 2, 2024
“That was a very close fight,” Sidey said in his post-fight interview. “First two rounds were close, I might’ve edged those out. Lost the third round. Personally, I thought I lost when the judges’ scorecards were being read. I’ll be honest.
“I need to re-watch the fight. I know I hurt him in the first two rounds and had some close submissions. It was a split decision win today.”
Armfield, although not pleased with the decision, later clarified that his comments about investigating the judges were meant as a joke.
Just to clarify, I do not actually think the judges need to be investigated @BloodyElbow
Split decisions are part of the sport and you are not going to be on the “right” end every time.
I was attempting to be humorous after the fight ended that way.— Garrett Armfield (@Armfield135) November 3, 2024
Despite the controversy, Sidey now has a UFC victory under his belt. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series with a controversial knockout win against Ramon Taveras, the rematch at UFC 297 ended in a split decision win for Taveras.
For Sidey, the fight with Armfield was a valuable learning experience, and he plans to come back stronger from it.
“Garrett gave me the hardest fight I’ve ever had,” Sidey said. “He showcased strong wrestling and boxing skills. I have a lot to learn from this experience and I aim to return better than ever.”