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‘This has to stop’… Daniel Cormier calls out judges after shocking unanimous decision at UFC 319

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Curtis Calhoun | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 9:38 PM ET

A controversial result on the UFC 319 prelims left Daniel Cormier asking for judging reform.

UFC 319 kicked off with a stunning upset win by Joseph Morales to win The Ultimate Fighter 33 flyweight title, and was followed up immediately by a result that left the broadcast team flabbergasted.

UFC women’s flyweight contenders Karine Silva and Dione Barbosa helped kick off the action at UFC 319 in Chicago. Barbosa took the fight on short-notice after Silva’s originally scheduled opponent, JJ Aldrich, withdrew due to injury.

Silva vs. Barbosa ended up being a back-and-forth battle from start to finish, with both women coming close to securing a stoppage victory in the Octagon. But as the official decision was read, all three members of the UFC’s cageside broadcast team were stunned with the judges’ scorecards.

UFC broadcast team goes crazy after controversial decision on UFC 319 prelims

The fight statistics between Silva and Barbosa were close after their three-rounder, with the bout coming down to a razor-thin margin in Round 2. But Silva’s control from her back, and late burst in the closing seconds of the round, left all three judges scoring the round in Silva’s favor.

Barbosa took the first round decisively and Silva closed the fight on a strong note in Round 3. Despite the live odds strongly in Barbosa’s favor at the end of the fight, Silva walked away with a unanimous decision victory, to the protest of the United Center crowd and the UFC 319 broadcasters.

After the official decision was read and Joe Rogan conducted a post-fight interview with Silva, Daniel Cormier went off on the Silva vs. Barbosa scorecards.

“This has to stop happening,” Cormier began.

“These judges can’t keep doing stuff like this time and time again. Especially when these fighters are getting a win or a show bonus.”

Anik responded to Cormier by agreeing with his sentiment and pointed out that the live betting odds were significantly in Barbosa’s favor at the time the fight concluded. Rogan agreed with his two broadcast partners.

“That was shocking… I think that is a bad decision,” Rogan followed up.

Questionable scorecards are nothing new in modern MMA. In recent years, the conversation surrounding MMA’s scoring criteria and judging consistency has ramped up in a massive way.

MMA judging continues to be a hot-button topic in 2025

Last weekend at UFC Vegas 109, bantamweight Miles Johns left the Octagon in tears after dropping a controversial loss to Jean Matsumoto.

Former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson called for radical scoring system changes after watching Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3 at UFC 318. Thomson believes a round should be scored with more emphasis on how it ends, especially if a fighter ends the round in top position.

Despite the controversy surrounding her UFC 319 victory, Silva bounced back in a big way following her first UFC defeat to Viviane Araujo at UFC 309 in November. As for Barbosa, she’s lost two of her last three fights following a UFC debut win over Ernesta Kareckaite at UFC 301.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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