Weekend Warriors: Pat Bennett VS Alexander Volkov in “The Worst Decision in MMA of 2010″

This is the most recent battle I have added to the “Weekend Warriors” hall of fame, and it holds a special place in MMA history as the worst decision in MMA of 2010.

At M-1 Challenge XXII, an overall good event filled with slick submissions and startling knockouts, the show was marred with some bad decisions by the incredibly biased judges, which resulted in three fights going to a fourth round. This event was held on Russian soil, and when it comes to Russians fighting foreigners, if you are not Russian you better finish your opponent. Pat Bennett of Team Bombsquad lost in the finals of the M-1 Selection series event to Kenny “Deuce” Garner, and looked to get himself back into contention against Alexander Volkov. The two went at it in three rounds with Pat Bennett dominating the fight with his superior takedowns and ground control, but Pat was unable to finish and the fight was left in the judges hands.

Long story short, the judges decided that Pat did not do enough to win, so a fourth round was ordered. Even the commentators were surprised at this decision, but it only got worse. While Volkov clung to life as Bennett continued his ground and pound, leading to the judges to render their decision again. Commentator Eric Nicholl actually referenced me after the fight ended and theorized on my dismay over this going to an unnecessary fourth round (which you can hear in part 3 of the vid at about 7:20). Eric was absolutely right, as the judges unanimously somehow saw this fight a draw after four rounds. Thankfully, earlier this week we reported that the decision was overturned and ruled a win for Bennett, so the system does work!

Hit the jump to see the rest of this fight and the controversy that occurred after!

Part 2

Part 3