Fresh UFC 247 controversy as James Krause blasts judge Joe Soliz’s ‘conflict of interest’

Soliz received black belt at gym under coach who cornered Krause’s opponent Trevin Giles

‘This is a disgrace to our sport. Not just my fight but multiple examples of incompetence from the same judge,’ says Krause

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James Krause grabs Trevin Giles’ leg at UFC 247. Photos: AFP

Published: 12:53pm, 19 Feb 2020Updated: 12:53pm, 19 Feb 2020

Fresh controversy has emerged surrounding the much-criticised judging at UFC 247 in Houston earlier this month.

UFC president Dana White and commentator Joe Rogan both blasted judge Joe Soliz’s “insane” 49-46 scorecard for the main event. Many felt Jones was lucky to escape with his light heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes, who had a case for winning the first three rounds. The other two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Jones.

The Texas commission put out a statement responding to the criticism, with Rogan and fellow commentator Dominick Cruz also blasting an unnamed judge for “literally not watching” and “looking at the floor” during a preliminary fight between women’s flyweights Lauren Murphy and Andrea Lee.

There was also criticism of another undercard fight, a middleweight bout between James Krause and Trevin Giles. Krause had an undeniably dominant first round but one of the judges – Soliz, again – scored it for Giles, which earned him the split decision instead of Krause.

James Krause (left) and Trevin Giles in their middleweight bout during UFC 247. Photo: AFP

If that wasn’t enough controversy, now TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter has reported that Soliz had a potential conflict of interest concerning Elite MMA, the gym where Giles is trained by coach Eric Williams, who cornered Giles against Krause.

Soliz told TSN he received his black belt in 2008 under Eric Williams at Elite MMA, but left in 2010.

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