Fighters wouldn’t be blamed for reacting with concern upon discovering that Adalaide Byrd would be scoring their fight.
Byrd remains one of the most controversial figures in all of combat sports and while fight fans have been aware of the judge’s unimpressive track record of scoring bouts for years, Byrd’s name hit mainstream headlines last September.
Byrd registered a bizarrely lopsided decision for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez despite the fact that most viewers and pundits had Gennady Golovkin winning comprehensively when the two pound-for-pound greats met in Las Vegas.
The insane scorecards alongside the Compubox stats of #CaneloGGG pic.twitter.com/QVGJ1tGrsy
— Darragh Murphy (@DarrMurphy) September 17, 2017
A furious reaction followed, with viewers simply refusing to accept the split draw outcome of one of the biggest boxing events of 2017 because, without a clear winner, Las Vegas received the guarantee of a lucrative rematch and allegations of nefarious goings-on were levelled at the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Byrd has kept a low profile since her contentious scorecard was registered but she returned to judging duties on Saturday night, when she was tasked with working the UFC 222 card.
Commentator Jon Anik made sure to make everyone aware that Byrd would be one of the judges for the undercard match-up between Cody Stamann and Bryan Caraway.
Anik: I can tell you that one of the three judges for this fight is one Adalaide Byrd, first time judging since that controversial decision in GGG vs. ‘Canelo’ Alvarez so don’t shoot the messenger.
Joe Rogan: We both just had a heart attack. Oh God, she was driving a Ferrari after that fight.
Daniel Cormier: Oh my goodness.
Rogan: She’s a nice lady though.
Cormier: She’s a great lady. The other day I saw her at The Ultimate Fighter gym.
Rogan: She’s a very nice person. So is my mom but I wouldn’t want her judging any fights.
Byrd was referenced throughout the final round of that bantamweight bout but it wasn’t the only fight for which she was responsible.
And with strange scorecards registered following John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz and Mackenzie Dern vs. Ashley Yoder, fight fans didn’t hesitate to call her out.
Adalaide Byrd almost pulled an Adalaide Byrd there. The lone judge giving it to Yoder. #UFC222
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 4, 2018
you cant tell me its a coincidence that Adelaide Byrd is judging tonight and every single decision has been a split decision. id say "someone get her some new glasses" but i dont think they make any thicker ones. #UFC222
— MacMally 🍀 (@MacMallyMMA) March 4, 2018
HAHAHAHA BYRD SCORED THAT FIGHT FOR YODER?!!!
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) March 4, 2018
Adelaide Byrd with another horrible scorecard. We have four split decisions in a row now and five is the UFC record. How is she allowed to do this?! #UFC222
— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) March 4, 2018
Adelaide Byrd scored that fight for Ashley Yoder. #UFC222 pic.twitter.com/N14ssiDiby
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) March 4, 2018
Adelaide Byrd scored it for Cody Stamann so I’m totally sure that’s the wrong result.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) March 4, 2018
John Dodson defeated Pedro Munhoz via split decision. Did Adalaide Byrd mess up again? #UFC222 pic.twitter.com/bv4vpp6DxA
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) March 4, 2018
