The MMA icon was shocked after Petr Yan lost a split decision against Sean O’Malley
Khabib joined a multitude of others in his shock at the result. © Twitter / Red Corner MMA
Khabib Nurmagomedov reacted with disbelief at the judges’ scorecards after fellow Russian fighter Petr Yan suffered an upset defeat to America’s Sean O’Malley in their bantamweight contest at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, new footage has revealed.
Former bantamweight champion Yan’s hopes of recapturing the title took a significant hit as he ended up on the wrong side of a split decision against underdog O’Malley after three rounds of fighting at the Etihad Arena.
The Russian was awarded the contest 29-28 on one scorecard, but the two other judges gave it 29-28 in favor of O’Malley.
Russia’s Yan stunned at UFC 280
The result sent shockwaves through the MMA community, with many fans and fighters claiming that Yan was “robbed” – even if others have said the contest could have gone either way.
Watching backstage as he prepared to corner Islam Makhachev in the night’s main event, Khabib reacted in disbelief when the scorecards were read out.
“How is that possible, brother?” the undefeated former lightweight champion was heard asking, in footage shared by Red Corner MMA.
Khabib indicated he had scored every round in favor of Yan, who made his own displeasure at the result clear on social media after the bout, tweeting: “F**k the judges.”
Elsewhere online, former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo claimed the outcome was the “biggest robbery in UFC history.”
Others have cited the close nature of the contest as the number 11-ranked O’Malley posed problems with his height and reach advantage.
O’Malley, 28, said in his own post-fight comments that he felt the outcome “could have went either way.”
Yan pressed the pace of the bout and secured several takedowns, while enjoying success on the feet.
O’Malley, however, also rocked the Russian with several shots, and opened a nasty gash near Yan’s right eye with a particularly vicious knee strike.
The eye-catching O’Malley – who has suffered just one defeat in 18 professional outings – could now be poised for a shot at current 135lbs ruler Aljamain Sterling.
Sterling defended his title with a one-sided TKO victory over two-time former champion TJ Dillashaw in their co-main event in Abu Dhabi.
Yan, 29, will have to rebuild after losing a second successive contest, having been on the wrong side of another contentious judging decision in his title rematch with Sterling at UFC 273 in April.
