Another weekend, another controversial UFC scorecard. One of the closest fights at UFC Vegas 104 took place between Sam Hughes and her 25-year-old counterpart, Stephanie Luciano. The more experienced fighter edged past her rival with a split decision win, but what followed was an uproar about how the fight was judged. In fact, fans have come out to express their issues with Dana White for the way the fight was scored.
Sam Hughes seems to have an edge over younger fighters as she edged past yet another opponent, but she didn’t get the win that easily. Contender Series alum, Stephanie Luciano, showed great heart in going toe-to-toe against the 32-year-old strawweight veteran in a fight when she appeared to land more significant strikes than Hughes.
Although Sam Hughes was able to land 50 percent of her strikes, 76 out of her 152 attempts, Stephanie Luciano appeared to land a bit more since she registered 82 out of 251 significant strikes. However, one of the judges, Derek Cleary, favored Hughes with a 10-8 score in the second round, which sealed the deal for her to take home a split-decision win.
#UFCVegas104 Official Scorecard: Stephanie Luciano vs Sam Hughes (@SamHughesMMA)
Complete Scorecards https://t.co/8Yv8kWbX83 pic.twitter.com/1z6idK8eFI
— UFC News (@UFCNews) March 15, 2025
However, the surprising scorecard has become controversial as fans don’t seem to understand how the judge gave the 10-8 score to Sam Hughes. In fact, they took to social media to express their grievances with the judge in question. Here’s what the fans had to say.
Fans take issue with Dana White and Co. as Sam Hughes earns a 10-8 round win
According to Dana White, a 10-8 round has one fighter giving his or her opponent an “a** whipping,” which wasn’t what happened between Sam Hughes and Stephanie Luciano. With that said, one fan claimed that the scorecard might have been tampered with at UFC Vegas 104 for the judge to score the fight in the way that he did. “This is insane lmao, clear manipulation,” that fan commented in a post on X.
May 4, 2023, Newark, NJ, NEWARK, NJ, United States: Newark NJ – May 4: Dana White speaks to the press and the fans at UFC288 – Sterling vs Cejudo – press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz at Prudential Center on May 4, 2023 in Newark, NJ Newark, NJ United States – ZUMAp175 20230504_zsa_p175_038 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
Furthermore, eagle-eyed fans, who were tuned into the fight between Hughes and Luciano, didn’t seem to be in favor of the 32-year-old winning the opening round. Instead, they sided with the younger fighter, as one fan wondered, “How did Sam Hughes win round 1…?” Well, some fans are starting to give up complaining about the scorecards since it’s becoming a common occurrence in the UFC, “We have had one decision tonight and it’s f—ing horrible, I SAY THIS EVERY F—ING WEEK,” another fan added in that regard.
Out of all the three judges, which included Mike Bell, Derek Cleary, and Sal D’Amato, the fans claimed that only the latter was on point this time with his scores. A couple of fans commented, “Just wild Sal only one who got it right,” and, “sometimes d’amato gets it right,” hailing the judge for his scoring accuracy tonight.
Some of them even took shots at Dana White and Co. for the constant failure in judgment in almost every event, with one fan claiming, “UFC wants you to buy their product but allow blatant robbery EVERY SINGLE CARD.” Meanwhile, one fan questioned the whole sport of MMA altogether with the comment, “Garbage reffing! such a corrupt sport.”
While one fighter advances, another gets back to the drawing board. But what do you think about the Sam Hughes vs Stephanie Luciano fight and the way it was scored? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post “That Is Insane, Clear Manipulation “- Fans Erupt at Judges as Controversy Strikes Dana White’s UFC Vegas 104 Scorecard appeared first on EssentiallySports.
