After 17 failed attempts from UFC fighters above the age of 35 to become a champion in the lighter weight classes, Alexander Volkanovski finally broke the curse and became a 2-time UFC featherweight champion. He’s the only other fighter to have captured the 145 lbs belt twice besides the legendary Jose Aldo. While the fight was a banger, to say the least, the commentary team of Joe Rogan, Jon Anik, and Daniel Cormier appeared to have some issues, once again, with one of the judges, Sal D’Amato.
Diego Lopes gave Alexander Volkanovski a good fight. While the Aussie star showed better control of the fight for the majority of the rounds, the Brazilian star almost ended the fight in round 4 after knocking ‘The Great’ down. However, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier thought that Lopes could have done better if he had added a bit of versatility to his game plan.
“Diego fought hard. Round 4, yes. Every other round was pretty easy to score. Alexander Volkanovski won the vast majority of every round. Even in the second round. When he did get knocked down, he had knocked down Diego early,” Cormier stated in a post-fight reaction video. “What a tremendous performance from Volkanovski. He looked vintage tonight… I think when Diego Lopes goes back to watch this, though, he’ll be like, ‘I should have pressured him a little early.’”
Joe Rogan would add that perhaps the biggest miss when it comes to Diego Lopes was his lack of level changes, takedown attempts, and most of all, calf kicks. “[Lopes should have gone for] more calf kicks,” Rogan responded. But that’s when Jon Anik would chime into the conversation and shock his fellow commentators by claiming that one of the judges had a questionable score for the fourth round.
If one controversy wasn’t enough, UFC 314 gave us two. Before the main card started, the event had already seen the Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson fight getting stopped early, which even Dana White admitted. However, the in main event, although the better man won between Alexander Volkamovski and Diego Lopes, judge Sal D’Amato gave the fourth round, where Lopes scored an almost-decisive blow to ‘The Great’, judge Sal D’Amato had ‘Volk’ winning those five minutes. “Sal D’amato did score round 4 to Alexander Volkanovski,” said Jon Anik.
While Joe Rogan was lost for words, Daniel Cormier replied, “Come on, man… Was he the 48-47?” This not only took them by surprise but Jon Anik, too. “It makes me feel like I need to go back. I don’t know what I’m watching if that consequential blow was landed by Diego in round 4… The scorecards were all over the place,” Anik added.
Volkanovski/Lopes scorecards#UFC314 pic.twitter.com/MyLWh922pc
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 13, 2025
Sal D’Amato has come under fire multiple times for his questionable scoring tactics. Just a couple of days ago, another fighter raised his issues with the UFC judge, citing the flawed scoring for one of his fights. Let’s take a look at what he had to say.
Max Griffin raised issues with Sal D’Amato before Joe Rogan and the commentary team
Max Griffin has had a mixed record in the UFC, winning eight fights while losing the same number of bouts. However, he thought he won against Neil Magny in 2022, but Sal D’Amato’s scores helped the latter eke out a split-decision victory, which hasn’t sat well with the 39-year-old veteran. “I cannot stand Sal D’Amato. He has me on Neil Magny losing, he has me on numerous fights. … He picks against me every single time,” Griffin stated in an interview with ‘MMA Junkie’.
A disappointed Max Griffin came to the conclusion that maybe he’s not in Sal D’Amato’s good books. “I don’t know if I did something in a past life to him, if I did something to him, but Sal D’Amato hates me.” Well, judging seriously impacts not only the fights inside the Octagon but also a fighter’s confidence who spends months training for just one single fight.
Well, what do you think about Sal D’Amato’s scores for the UFC 314 main event bout? Drop your comments below.
The post Joe Rogan Exposes 1 Huge Mistake From Diego Lopes as Judge Sal D’Amato Under Fire Despite Alexander Volkanovski Win at UFC 314 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
