The headline match at UFC Vegas 74, featuring Amir Albazi and Kai Kara-France, was a close affair and the results of the official scorecards released by the UFC demonstrate that the judges had differing opinions. Ultimately, Albazi walked away with the split decision, with two judges scoring the bout 48-47 in his favor and the other judge awarding the same scorecard to Kara-France.

A breakdown of the individual round scores indicates that only three of the five rounds were agreed upon, with Rounds 2 and 3 going to Albazi and Round 5 to Kara-France, all via 10-9 scores. The judges were divided in Round 1, with D’Amato scoring in Albazi’s favor, while Lee and Bell gave the round to Kara-France. The closely contested fourth round resulted in D’Amato and Bell awarding it to Kara-France, while Lee had the same score for Albazi.

The majority of media outlets that scored the bout sided with Kara-France, with 19 of the 21 media scores collected by MMA Decisions giving him the win, and ten of those having him winning 4-1. The remaining two scores went in favor of Albazi, with both of those having scored it 3-2 for the Iraqi fighter.

In the end, while Albazi may have walked away with the victory, the judges’ scores make it clear that the bout could have gone either way. It is not surprising to see differing opinions, as both fighters were evenly matched and performed admirably.

It is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of MMA media outlets favored Kara-France, indicating that fans of the sport have a preference for his style of fighting. Whatever the outcome, the match was an entertaining and close affair, and both Albazi and Kara-France should be commended for their performances.