On a recent podcast on his YouTube channel, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling raised an unconventional theory while breaking down the Brendan Allen vs. Christian Leroy Duncan main event from a recent UFC Vegas card. Sterling suggested that skin tone can influence how officials score a bout.
The discussion started when co-hosts Kevin Burke and Steve Lee argued that Allen appeared to control the match against Duncan, despite some scorecards reflecting a closer contest. Sterling offered an explanation for why damage might look different depending on the athlete.
“His skin is going to show it a little bit more than CDL. I just think from my experience over the years, I tend to see this a little bit more often than not, but the darker skinned guy doesn’t typically bruise as as easily,” Sterling said.
Steve picked up on the point, noting that visible reactions to strikes not just marks on the skin, can shape perception during a match.
“It didn’t look like Allan was really like reacting to the shot. Like I mean, I know it doesn’t really account for much, but like he kind of ate the shots and just kept moving forward,” Steve said.
Despite the theory, the hosts agreed Allen’s performance stood on its own.
“I thought it was like 3-1 Allen and then a 10-8 round obviously cuz the eye poke. Respect for the eye poke thing,” Steve said.
The conversation also touched on how quickly Duncan adjusted his approach once he lost a point, which the group found telling.
“You know what the flip side to that was? Like the instant he took the point, he never got close to doing it again,” Steve said.
Kevin went on to praise Allen’s performance overall, crediting his takedowns and control against a bigger, more athletic opponent, and noted the win puts him in a difficult position in a stacked middleweight division.
“I feel like he was supposed to win,” Kevin said of Allen heading into the matchup.
