UFC 305 Judge Was Removed After Submitting A Terrible Scorecard
On August 18, 2024, in Perth, Australia, Jairzinho Rozenstruik from Suriname showed his emotions after winning against Tai Tuivasa from Australia in a heavyweight match at the UFC 305 event held at RAC Arena. The photo was captured by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.
Regardless of how much experience you have in watching combat sports, each event always has something new and unique to offer.
Over the weekend in Perth, Australia, Howie Booth, a judge at UFC 305, was removed from his position during the event after turning in a scorecard that raised doubts for the Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik bout.
Rozenstruik emerged victorious in the fight with a close split decision, with two judges recognizing his performance (Charlie Keech 28 - 29, David Lethaby 27 - 30) while Howie Booth scored it differently at 30 - 27. However, Booth's scoring and the resulting controversy became the focal point of discussion after the match.
How poor was Booth's performance on the scorecard?
I have been following combat sports for over four decades and have been reporting on it for 15 years, and I have never witnessed a judge turn in a more dreadful scorecard than the one Booth handed in.
Rozenstruik dominated the fight with more precise striking. Looking at the numbers, in a match where neither fighter attempted a takedown, Rozenstruik landed 91 strikes compared to Tuivasa's 37 over the course of three rounds.
Rozenstruik consistently outperformed Tuivasa in striking by a margin of at least +10 in each round. It is difficult to argue that Tuivasa won even one round, let alone all three.
Luckily, I wasn't alone in my disbelief of the scorecard. Fight officials quickly decided to replace Booth as a judge for the remaining bouts of the night.
According to veteran combat sports reporter Kevin Iole, Booth was scheduled to score the co-main event featuring Kai Kara-France and Steve Erceg. However, he was deemed unfit and was ultimately replaced for what would have been a crucial fight.
Surprisingly, Kara-France didn't rely on the judges for his victory. He achieved a TKO win over Erceg in the opening round, thanks to the impactful strength of his left hand.
When we take a closer look at the scorecards from all three judges, I have doubts about whether Charlie Keech should be let off the hook for his scorecard.
I saw the entire fight and I can't understand how he could have given the first round to Tuivasa. He was hit with ten more significant strikes and didn't manage to get a takedown.
Luckily, none of the fighters on the card were cheated out of a win, but there were some questionable scorecards turned in. Take a look at the complete results from UFC 305:
