Another WEC event in the books and another fantastic main event that will easily be in the discussion for "Fight of the Year." Yet once again MMA fans witnessed another fight marred in controversy over judging.

Ben Henderson won an unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 48-47. The final four rounds of the interim lightweight title fight appeared to have definitive winners, with Henderson winning rounds two and three while Cerrone finished strong taking rounds four and five. Thus making the deciding factor the critical first round.

The first round can be split into two acts. The first act featured Donald Cerrone locking in two tight submission on Ben Henderson, who eventually escaped. In the second act the momentum swung in Henderson's favor as he secured a takedown and followed it with successful ground-and-pound. Both fighters clearly dominated their respective acts within the round, the question is which action is more valuable: are solid submission attempts worth more than a takedown and punches or is it visa versa?

WKR reviewed the fight this morning (thank god for DVR) and observed the time that Cerrone had Henderson in a submission hold. Conservatively Cerrone had the guillotine choke locked in on Henderson for at least thirty-seven seconds. Cerrone then transitioned to a triangle choke and held that for approximately forty-two seconds. For over a fifth of the first round Ben Henderson was trapped in two submissions and appeared to be on the verge of losing the bout.

Once Henderson escaped the triangle choke both fighters stood up with Ben landing a flush head kick. Yet it wasn't until there were two minutes left in the round that Henderson secured a takedown and was able to unleash his ground-and-pound.

The judges ended up valuing Henderson's ground game more than Cerrone's submission attempts.

This is nothing new in the world of mixed martial arts.

The issue of judges rewarding fighters for their submission attempts has long been a blight on MMA judging. Currently the rules are constructed in favor of wrestlers, rewarding them for takedowns and dominant position. At this time in MMA it is nearly impossible to win a decision using an active guard.

WKR has long contended that solid submission attempts that appear close to submitting an opponent need to be scored as the equivalent of a knockdown. Knockdown's usually result in a fighter being rewarded the round. Yet, as the Cerrone-Henderson fight demonstrated, an excellent submission hold doesn't generate a fighter very many points.

One of the more creative expressions of protest over the Cerrone-Henderson decision can be seen in the spontaneous break out of a poetry slam over at Fightlinker.

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson coverage

Sadly, poor judging was on display earlier in the night. Rafel Assuncao clearly defeated Yves Jabouin in a three round fight but one judge scored all three rounds for Jabouin making the fight a split decision with two judges scoring in 30-27 for Assuncao and one judge scoring it 30-27 for Jabouin. A puzzling decision to say the least, which furthered the outcry of a poor decision in the WEC interim lightweight title bout.

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson coverage