Judges Rule Bennett vs. Volkov a Draw at M-1 Challenge XXII
Dec 14, 2010
(PRESS RELEASE) -- ‘Never leave the outcome of a fight up to the
judges’ is a tireless cliché but one would think that those who
score mixed martial arts would work harder to address their all too
often suspect results - or at least come close to getting it right.
Nothing could be further from the truth last Friday night at M-1
Challenge XXII in Moscow, Russia, as Team Bombsquad fighter, Pat
Bennett, was robbed of a victory against Red Devil Sports Club
stand-out, Alexander Volkov, in a bout with significant heavyweight
contention ramifications. Known for his wrestling pedigree, Bennett
has proven to be a multidimensional mixed martial artist capable of
transitioning into a touted striker at will which is backed by his
record that’s heavily weighted in the ‘win’ column with five
first-round TKO’s. But when Bennett’s run at the 2010 M-1 Selection
tournament title was cut short against Kenny ‘Deuce’ Garner, he
felt it necessary to get back to his fundamental talent. The
heavyweight contention bout against Volkov sent Bennett back to his
decorated base with a game plan to exploit the match-up’s stylistic
mismatch; defend the striking, set-up takedowns and demolish Volkov
on the ground. Bennett did exactly this for three full rounds with
precision execution. With the win seemingly in the bag, the pair
waited for the judges to call a 30-27 unanimous decision in the
American’s favour but the judges called the bout a draw, forcing an
overtime round to decide the outcome. With the crowd and
commentators stunned, Bennett set back into fighting mode and
delivered yet another flawless round which should have secured the
judges’ decision. Back to the score cards the three wise men went
and returned with an unchanged ruling; after four rounds, the bout
was declared a draw in what has been called ‘possibly the worst
decision of 2010’ by M-1 Global director of Operations, Evgeni
Kogan. What was originally a heavyweight bout with serious title
contention ramifications ended up as another example of horrific
judging leaving two fighters with a neutral notch on their records
and one disappointed Pat Bennett. With the 2011 calendar’s full
slate of events, don’t be surprised to see Bennett return to action
within the M-1 ring sooner than later.