Pros react after Gleison Tibau upsets Rory MacDonald at PFL 5

By Harry Kettle - June 18, 2021

Multiple MMA fighters reacted on social media after Gleison Tibau pulled off an upset win over Rory MacDonald at PFL 5 last night.

Gleison Tibau

The two men battled it out as part of the final push towards the welterweight playoffs in the PFL. The overwhelming expectation heading into the bout was that MacDonald would blow the doors off of Tibau and while it wasn’t quite so convincing, many did believe he was the one who should have his hand raised.

Then, in a stunning twist of fate, the judges awarded the contest to Tibau via split decision – sending MMA Twitter into meltdown.

https://twitter.com/GilbertDurinho/status/1405726863440371713

It’s safe to say that while some may have been able to squint and award Tibau one round, others were convinced that Rory took all three – making the idea of a 29-28 Tibau scorecard almost impossible.

The strangest part is that due to the manner in which the PFL playoff structure works, Tibau didn’t make it into the top four whereas MacDonald did thanks to his previous win in the competition.

These reactions serve as just a small look into the chaos that was Twitter last night when, rightly, fans were legitimately questioning the sanctity of the sport and the future of MMA judging.

Nobody can definitively say whether or not this is going to harm the long term prospects of MacDonald in this season’s PFL but one thing we can say with confidence is this – PFL needs to take a serious look at how this fight was judged because if they don’t, the uproar will only continue.

Do you think Gleison Tibau should’ve walked away as the winner of this fight? What do you think the next best move is from here for Rory MacDonald in his MMA career? Let us know your thoughts on this controversy down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!


Topics:

Gleison Tibau Professional Fighters League (PFL) Rory MacDonald