Ross Pearson to Receive $30K Win Bonus Following Controversial Loss to Diego Sanchez

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Ross Pearson believes he got a raw deal on the scorecards at UFC Fight Night Albuquerque, but at least his bank account won’t have to suffer for it.

Pearson dropped a highly controversial split decision to Diego Sanchez this past Saturday in a 155-pound clash. Despite Pearson outlanding his opponent in each round, according to FightMetric.com figures, judge Jeff Collins submitted a 30-27 scorecard for Sanchez, while Chris Tellez saw it 29-28 for the New Mexico native. Meanwhile, Marcos Rosales submitted a 30-27 tally in favor of “The Real Deal.”

UFC President Dana White announced on Tuesday that the British lightweight will receive his $30,000 win bonus despite the defeat.

“Diego lost that fight. The judge who judged that fight should never be judging fights again. He never should be judging fights of this caliber, he needs to go back down into the amateurs and really learn how to judge a fight," White told UFC.com . "First of all, you gave every round to Diego, who got dropped in the second round. It was a knockdown, how does Diego win that round? It's not possible. I don't know how you can vote against him, but it goes to show that you're never safe. That's as bad as it gets."

Pearson and his team filed an appeal with the New Mexico Athletic Commission shortly after the Saturday’s verdict. It is unlikely that the decision will be overturned, but it may not matter. White told ESPN.com earlier on Tuesday that “we have to treat Pearson like he won and give him that next level fight.”