One of the only decisions about the UFC 318 prelims confused fans about the jury's scorecards.
The UFC 318 prelims did not have many fights that went the full distance, but one of the only matchups that led to voluminous raunches.
UFC Welterweights Nikolay Veretnikov and Francisco Prado helped the promotion during the UFC 318 Prelims on Saturday in New Orleans. Veretennikov and Prado both wanted to get back on the right track after major setbacks in their last fights.
The fight became an instant classic three-rounder because both hunters exchanged large strokes for 15 minutes. But the official decision left many fans bitter and furious with the newest MMA who judge controversy.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Verrikov on UFC 318 led to strong 'theft' calls
Prado landed a large Takedown in the first seconds of the fight, making Viketennikov in a difficult position at the start. The two welterweights had a number of wild grabbing fairs in the opening round, because both hunters looked around to secure annoying submissions.
Veretennikov turned the tide in the last minutes of round 1, when Prado tried to secure an arm bar while Veretnikov got up. When Prado was approaching the entry, Versetennikov broke free by beating Prado on the side of his head and landing annoying ground and pounds.
Verrikov kept his momentum at the start of round 2 and dropped Prado with a right hand that took him off his feet. Prado tried a Takedown halfway through the round that turned out not to be successful, but was set for his second chance when Vetennikov tried a rotating staircase.
After controlling Vertennikov for the rest of round 2, the third and final round of the fight was largely dominated by Prado. He landed a number of brutal elbow strikes from Top Mount that ran out -boom, before he surpassed his opponent on the feet and secured a new late Takedown.
Despite the dominant finish of Prado for the fight, the scor cards of the jury members gave the split decision to Verettennikov, which encouraged a strong response from fans to social media who believed that Prado deserved the victory.
#UFC318 Official Scorecard: Francisco Prado vs Nikolay Veretennikov (@Vensennikovmma)
Full score cards ➡️ pic.twitter.com/o5070lm6i0
– UFC News (@ufcnews) July 20, 2025
“UFC jury members keep sucking. Restroys the sport,” wrote a fan on X.
“They rob my boy Prado …”
“Absolute robbery.”
“Absolute **** decision.”
“Why does D'Amato have a job?”
“Why am I not surprised with those 2 jury members?”
“He dropped him in the 2nd! He won the fight!”
“No surprise Sal is one of the stupid *** jury members who have chosen Nikolay.”
“Mree decision loss for Francisco Prado. I disagree with that decision at all.”
“Dude didn't win that.”
“Wouldn't be UFC evening without **** judges.”
“Free decision of the judges, as usual.”
Verrikov took his first UFC victory with his controversial victory over UFC 318. He dropped his UFC debut earlier this year at Austin Vanderford in UFC Seattle and landed a cheap shot at his opponent after the horn the anger of fans.
In the meantime, Prado has now lost three consecutive fights since he had completed Ottman Azaitar in the first round in July 2023. Prado is now 1-4 in its UFC official period.
Go early for the slam 🤯
[ #UFC318 | Nikolay Veretennikov ] pic.twitter.com/gkixobjhl
– UFC (@UFC) July 20, 2025
UFC 318 Prelims contained wild finishes and the revenge of Brendan Allen
Prado vs. Veretennikov was one of the few fights that went the distance during the UFC 318 -Prelims. The preliminary part of UFC 318 started with a home-Knock-out for Carli Judice with a knee on the third round.
UFC Middleweight Ateba Gautier continued his destructive line by eliminating Robert Valentin in the first round. Fellow Dana White's Contender Series Alum Brunno Ferreira almost broke his opponent's arm with a gnarling submission.
In a middleweight -wrinkle competition at the UFC 318 -Prelims, Brendan postponed all months after their viral fight in a casino in Florida former title -Uitdager Marvin Vettori. Allen returned to the profit column after a loss for Anthony Hernandez in UFC Seattle.
Bloody Elbow has covered you with the last of UFC 318.