@”Are you having a laugh”, yes I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I just felt strongly about mine. It was a close fight after rewatching it, but I still think Forrest won and he deserves that belt.

and sam, i agree with # 8 MrNiceGuyMMA

R1: 10-9 Rampage
R2: 10-8 Forrest
R3: 10-9 Rampage
R4: 10-9 Rampage
R5: 10-9 Rampage

1. definitive Page. 2. definitive Griffin 3. Almost impossible to call, but I give to Griffin on momentum. 4. Page 5. This time instead of seeing it as even, I give a slight edge to Griffin for staying busier. And in a fight like this, the winner of the last round deserves it.

It’s fair that Forrest won. It just should have been 48 to 47.

The fight with Griffin was basically a draw. They each had dominant rounds, and the last three were too close to be definitive (though I gave Forrest 3 and Page 4). Nothing really happened in the last round. Page’s corner should have told him how close it was and had him go for it to close it out. He played it too careful.

The scorecards were a joke, though. Anyone who doesn’t give Rampage the first round should just give up ever trying to judge a fight. It doesn’t matter if the other guy is peppering in “tink” punches and racking up some minor points, when the other guy drops him to the mat with a strike and nearly finishes him off with GnP while the dude is clinging for his life to stay alive, HE WINS THAT ROUND, case closed. I wouldn’t make it a 10-8 for Page, but in no reality, real or imagined, does he lose that round. Same goes for round two, Forrest takes that with a 10-9. Never is that a 10-8. It was a great leg kick and he held Page down for the round, but Page neutralized him on the ground. Forrest never got anything off.

The last three round were pick ‘ems. Neither guy did enough to make it clear (though the triangle into power slam was the highlight of the fight.) Not complaining Forrest won, it was an inspired performance. But I feel bad for Rampage that the scorecards were so off. I was certain at least one judge would give it to him. I though he was going to take it myself.

“To be the man, you have to beat the man,” Rick Flair.

This fight has me thinking that in MMA, the tie goes to the underdog, not the Champ. This isn’t boxing, and somehow maybe it’s good to give the underdog his due. In a fight, if somebody is absolutely supposed to kick somebody’s ass, if he’s meant to destroy him, and then the guy puts up a hell of a fight, well it’s like a victory because he kept it close.

Forrest benefitted from that. He kept the fight close when Rampage was supposed to “whoop his ass.” And he almost did in that first round. That shot that dropped Forrest was the end that most (including Rampage) expected. A quick mount and some blows reigned down and the ref stops it. But he couldn’t put Griffin away. You could see look of disappointment on his face at the end of the round. It was subtle, but you could a “damn, he’s still in the fight” flash across his eyes.

Neither round one or two was a 10-8. A 10-8 is when you beat the hell out of someone and just miss putting them away. Forrest was on top, but didn’t do much from that position. But he did hold him down the whole round after that great leg kick. What a round like that does (while not a 10-8) is create momentum. If the next round is close, like it was, it should go to the guy who is coming off a dominant round.

The real way the fight went was Rampage 1, Forrest 2 and 3, Rampage 4, and then the last round was actually even, too close to score. I don’t believe it the 10 point must system. If neither guy does enough to establish who won the round it should be a 9-9. That would make this fight a draw, which, let’s face it, is basically the truth of what happened. I watched the show without commentary by the way, and was rooting for Forrest to win.

I was of the mind that in draw situations the Champ gets the nod. But this is were the underdog thing comes in. Rampage was supposed to destroy him. He said the fight wouldn’t go to decision. It did and he lost because it was thrilling to watch Forrest make a fight of it. If we had no idea who either guy was and watched the fight, might it have been scored differently? Perhaps, but it really doesn’t matter.

This wasn’t Hamill/Bisping. History will show that Forrest won and I don’t think it will say it was a controversial decision. But it was much much much closer than the official scorecards.