Understanding the Global Scorecard for Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2
At UFC 271, Israel Adesanya once again defeated Robert Whittaker. Unlike the first fight, the rematch was competitive. Many fans and fighters are split on who they think won the fight.
As is often the case, many people turned to the Global Scorecard for more clarity on the decision. Israel Adesanya had the higher final score on the Global Scorecard, but Whittaker won more rounds, so what does that mean?
You must first understand how the Global Scorecard works. Tens of thousands of members of the Verdict Community submit their scores in real-time on Verdict. The scores are then aggregated and then averages are displayed on the Global Scorecard. The averages show you how close or how dominant rounds are by breaking the numbers into decimal points.
Winning dominant rounds carry more weight than winning close rounds on the Global Scorecard. Let’s compare rounds 1 and 4. Adesanya clearly won the 1st round, whereas Whittaker edged out 4th round. The 1st round carries more weight than the 4th round on the Global Scorecard. Adesanya earned a score of 9.49 in the 4th round and that contributed to the final score. This system rewards fighters that make rounds competitive. It’s more than simply saying a fighter won or lost a round.
Adesanya’s round 1 was significantly more dominant than Whittaker’s round 4, so why should they both be valued at a solid 10-9? The Global Scorecard has brought transparency to the scoring of combat sports fights.
