It's Judgement Day at KC38 - Chelmiah vs Lopez II
by Dane Curley • 2023. Mar 07
While the Karate Combat 37 broadcast (pictured above) may have left you thinking Jesus Lopez was the new Karate Combat Bantamweight World Champion... it is Eoghan Chelmiah who will again be defending his title, at Karate Combat 38.
The original result that declared Lopez the winner on the live broadcast was in fact due to a computer error. (Read more about that, here.) Officially, Eoghan Chelmiah remains undefeated, and remains champion.
Just not according to Jesus Lopez.
"I am the Champion of the World. Chelmiah has lost my respect, totally."
- said Lopez in a video interview with Karate Combat conducted shortly after KC37.
The Lopez Point of View
Jesus Lopez doesn't merely dispute the results, he actively portrays himself as champion on social media, donning the golden karate belt and Karate Combat Bantamweight Championship belt in photos, videos, and in interviews with Peruvian media. (He took it home with him after receiving it in the Pit.)
The Peruvian powerhouse sees the Split Decision as a complete travesty. He fairly notes that viewers and commentators are mostly united in their belief that Jesus won the fight.
To his point, it is fair to say that Chelmiah does indeed have to live with some educated and esteemed onlookers such as Karate Combat League Sensei Bas Rutten saying it should not have been a split decision at all, that he felt Jesus won it clear and clean.
And Georges St-Pierre hailed Lopez's performance in so many words, as masterful, noting how impressed he is to see Lopez improve in every contest, one after the next.
But actually, living with those comments has not been particularly challenging for the young champion at all.
The Chelmiah Point of View
Eoghan Chelmiah believes he fairly won the fight on all measures. There's no disputing that he won it technically (because two of three judges did score him the winner, regardless of the broadcast announcement). But Eoghan says he won it on the merits, too.
"As GSP often says, 'fighting is very subjective.' The commentary teams job is to provide the audience with live insight of what's going on in the fight and boost the entertainment factor. Their role is not to score the fight though... we have a panel of certified judges for that."
- said Chelmiah, when asked about Jesus's position.
"Two of the three judges scored the fight in my favor, using the Karate Combat scoring system which favors both aggression and effective striking."
It doesn't seem that the Mauritian-Irishman has lost respect for his opponent in the same was Lopez has for him, either. Eoghan shared his belief straight away that any Split Decision should yield an immediate rematch when it comes to championship fights. He agreed to rematch Lopez without hesitation, at the earliest availability.
JUDGEMENT DAY
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Chelmiah vs Lopez II is the Co-Main Event at Karate Combat 38, April 1st in Miami, Florida. They'll fight to establish bantamweight dominance ahead of the Middleweight Championship later that same night. With both men looking to prove that there can be only one, expect another battle for the ages inside the Pit!
See the full KC38 fight card on Karate.com and Subscribe for more KC Fight News coming soon!