Few things frustrate mixed martial arts fans more than controversial scoring, though the term “robbery” is often used too freely and can be influenced by bias. In this Robbery Review feature, we revisit contentious fight decisions to assess if judge scorecards warranted criticism or if commentators should reconsider their initial reactions.
According to many, Jose Aldo was indeed robbed.
Ahhh… feels good to state that, doesn`t it? In what appeared to be the legendary fighter’s final appearance, Aldo came incredibly close to securing a finish that would rank among his career highlights. Even without the stoppage, many felt he had clearly done enough to earn a decision victory over the surging Aiemann Zahabi.
However, all three judges awarded the fight to Zahabi. This verdict was particularly hard to accept given Aldo’s near-finish in the third round and the sight of the tired 38-year-old enduring a difficult ground-and-pound attack in the fight’s closing moments. Shortly after, Aldo announced his retirement, marking the end of one of combat sports’ most remarkable careers we’ve been fortunate to witness.
While fellow fighters sent heartfelt goodbyes to Aldo, significant anger was also expressed regarding the official scoring.
Regardless of agreement or disagreement with the judges, this fight currently stands as the most debated UFC outcome of 2025. Therefore, we are compelled to subject it to the Robbery Review analysis.
Official Result: Aiemann Zahabi defeated Jose Aldo via unanimous decision.
For this re-evaluation, we will primarily concentrate on Round 2, which emerged as the pivotal swing round, as well as the intense action of Round 3. We will also briefly touch upon the opening round.
Round 1 showcased classic Aldo. He immediately took control of the cage center, pursuing the mobile Zahabi. Aldo initiated the offense with sharp combinations testing Zahabi`s defense. As Zahabi began to loosen up, Aldo skillfully stayed one step ahead with excellent counter-striking and evasive head movement.
Moving into Round 2, Zahabi built upon the momentum from the end of the first, starting with a solid combination featuring a knee to the body and a left hand. Aldo pushed back, leading with his jab and low kicks. Zahabi also utilized leg kicks effectively, even with Aldo ready to counter. While Aldo seemed to have a slight edge in the jab exchange, Zahabi found success working from a distance as well. Additionally, Aldo landed effective body shots, including a sharp left hook to the ribs.
Credit must be given to Zahabi for his willingness to absorb punishment to land his own. The head movement Aldo displayed at the end of Round 1 was less prominent, allowing many of Zahabi’s jabs to connect. The fight’s rhythm also shifted slightly, with Zahabi taking on the role of the aggressor.
About two minutes into the round, Zahabi landed the first of two low blows that went uncalled. Regardless of intent, this was frustrating.
Aldo’s jabs and counters remained accurate, but it’s understandable why this round was challenging to score, given Zahabi’s successful forward pressure. Did he find more success than Aldo? That remains unclear.
The second low blow occurred with roughly a minute remaining. After a lengthier pause this time, Aldo resumed action, landing another left hand to the body. Zahabi countered with a jab that snapped Aldo’s head back. Growing bolder, Zahabi stepped directly into Aldo’s range, inviting an exchange. This gamble paid off as he landed his most significant strike of the round – a counter right hand connecting squarely on Aldo’s renowned chin. Aldo appeared unfazed. He concluded the round with a flying knee that seemed to lack power, a sign of things to come.
Round 3 was characterized by two distinct sequences: one moment of pure excitement, followed by a difficult scene to watch.
After approximately 90 seconds of competitive back-and-forth, Aldo stunned Zahabi with a straight right hand. He followed up with a knee to the jaw, sending Zahabi staggering and perfectly setting him up for a soccer kick. Yes, a well-timed, entirely legal Jose Aldo soccer kick landed directly on the front of Zahabi’s face. Zahabi fell but immediately sprang back up within seconds.
Aldo didn’t let up, throwing wildly and landing another right hand that again wobbled Zahabi. A running knee and further punches forced Zahabi into survival mode, and impressively, he survived! With three minutes left in the fight, this is where things took a downturn for Aldo, who was clearly exhausted. Zahabi easily defended a desperate takedown attempt, pushed Aldo to the canvas, established top position, and remained there for the rest of the round.
Zahabi was content to work within Aldo’s closed guard, delivering ground-and-pound, including elbows that caused a cut on Aldo. Aldo stayed active enough to avoid a decisive blow or a stoppage, but for him, time must have felt like it was moving in slow motion.
This situation echoed his fight against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, except this time Aldo did not have a comfortable lead on the scorecards. He made it to the final buzzer, but the true disappointment was yet to come.
Judges Mike Bell, Pasquale Procopio, and David Therien all scored the fight 29-28 for Zahabi, awarding Round 1 to Aldo and Rounds 2 and 3 to Zahabi.
Statistics provided by UFC Stats.
While statistics often don’t reveal much beyond what was seen, let’s examine the data.
Total significant strikes heavily favored Zahabi (99-68), a number significantly boosted by his late-fight ground assault. He outscored Aldo 52-20 in Round 3, with 25 of those being ground strikes. Looking only at standing strikes, Aldo won R1 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. Some observers felt there were three, but reviewing the footage, the only clear knockdown occurred after the soccer kick.
The initial right hand and knee certainly wobbled Zahabi, but it’s unclear if he hit the canvas. Then, after the soccer kick knockdown, Aldo rushed in with another kick attempt that caused Zahabi to scramble, but he wasn’t dropped again.
As you may know, members of the media tend to be quite fond of Jose Aldo, and our consensus favored him in this bout. Sixteen out of 20 scores submitted to MMA Decisions were 29-28 in favor of Aldo. Two scored it 29-28 for Zahabi, and two scored it a draw (ESPN`s Phil Murphy clarified his score was due to a 10-8 round for Zahabi in the third).
Data compiled from MMA Decisions and Verdict MMA.
On the public votes at MMA Decisions, 62.4 percent favored 29-28 Aldo, with 29-28 Zahabi far behind at 13.4 percent. Another 10.3 percent voted for 30-27 Aldo.
On the Verdict MMA app, fan scoring also reflected a very close contest.
Verdict’s aggregate scoring showed Aldo winning 28.72 to 28.24, a difference of just 48 points – hardly a gap that would typically ignite angry social media posts, right?
I scored the fight 29-28 for Aldo live as it happened.
After re-watching the fight with the ability to pause and rewind, my score remained 29-28 for Aldo.
Frankly, my perspective didn`t change much upon review. Round 2 was the one requiring closer examination, and even under the microscope, I found it equally difficult to call. The difference for me ultimately came down to a few damaging jabs and powerful body shots from Aldo. However, Zahabi also landed plenty of clean strikes, making scoring the round for him entirely justifiable.
I’ve seen many opinions suggesting Round 3 should have also gone to Aldo, but I cannot agree with that assessment. The sequence where he unleashed the soccer kick flurry on Zahabi was spectacular, and in a fair system, Aldo should have been heavily rewarded for connecting so cleanly. But Zahabi recovered and completely took control afterward.
I don’t understand how anyone could watch Aldo absorb significant ground-and-pound for two full minutes and still score that round in his favor. While prioritizing immediate impact might heavily credit Aldo for nearly finishing the fight, I’d argue Zahabi came just as close, if not closer, to forcing a stoppage himself. Perhaps fatigue and age played a major role, but Zahabi still effectively beat down and bloodied Aldo. Again, Zahabi recovered quite quickly from Aldo’s best moments. Aldo, once he was in deep trouble, never regained control.
That heartbreaking image of a bruised Aldo sitting against the cage, looking disappointed, didn’t suggest to me he was upset about a judge’s decision. It looked like a man who felt he hadn’t done enough to win.
Ultimately, this was not a robbery. And writing that feels worse than ever.
