Hermes Franca vs. Moshe Kaitz at IFC Genesis. Photo Credit: Mike Ben Avi

UFC veteran Hermes Franca (19-11, 1 NC) took on Ferrid Kheder (18-5, 1 NC) at Xtreme Vale Todo 5 on Dec. 19 in Costa Rica. It was an entertaining bout that went the distance.

If you still have not seen the fight, watch and decide for yourself who you think won. If you can do that, you are doing better than the folks from Xtreme Vale Todo who could not seem to make up their mind who should have the victory.

The judges saw it one way, but evidently, since there is no athletic commission in Costa Rica, a promoter can veto a judge’s ruling faster than George Bush could veto gay marriage.

Watch what happens as it appears Franca is about to be announced the winner, then the promoter, Jean-Francois Billon, is seen to intervene and Kheder is then announced the victor.

In the final video below, Franca along with his training partner and corner man for the fight Dave Jansen show a few of the scorecards they received from the judges and say they confirmed with them they scored Franca as the winner. Franca says it may be hard to get the result changed to a “win” for himself but he is going to fight for it.

The records currently read “no contest – decision overturned by promoter” as the official result, which is at least good it’s not a loss for Franca, but it really should be considered a win for the colorful-haired Brazilian. If the promoter can overturn a result to make it a no contest, surely he can do the right thing and give the win to the man who deserves it.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Post-Fight Controversy

Franca and Jansen discuss what happened

Alternate Version: Franca vs. Kheder fight video

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