UFC on FX 3 results: Demetrious Johnson vs Ian McCall rematch should have been five rounds

There have been countless fights that ended at the end of three rounds where an extra two rounds were desired.

Chuck Liddell taking on Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira versus Randy Couture at UFC 102. These are just two examples of amazing fights cut short of even more amazing potential thanks to a three round cap.

When it was announced that all Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) main events would shift from three rounds to five, mixed martial arts (MMA) fans rejoiced. Too many main events were title eliminators and acted as de facto title fights, and far too often, these fights ended with a less than acceptable outcome.

These fights are quality, give us more of them, the fans seemed to cry out.

This change is exactly what led to the five round war between Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson. Without the change in rules, that fight would have ended 10 minutes earlier and robbed us of one the best fights ever.

So why wasn't last night's (June 8, 2012), the flyweight headliner between Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson on UFC on FX 3, a five rounder?

Well, the simple answer is the fight was part of the Flyweight "tournament" so the same rules that applied to Joseph Benavidez and Yahuhiro Urushitani's bout applied to this fight, too.

Three rounds plus a sudden death overtime round in case a draw was scored after 15 minutes; as if that worked in the past.

Thanks to those rules, we were robbed of two rounds of one of the best UFC main events fans have been privy to in quite a while. Three months ago, McCall and Johnson went back and forth in a three round war and a judging snafu robbed fans of an extra round.

This time around, UFC bureaucracy foiled everyone.

Last night's main event should have been five round, plain and simple. If the previous three rounds back in March weren't any indication, the three last night were that Johnson and McCall need more than 15 minutes to sort out their differences.

I honestly feel robbed of a good fight becoming a great fight.

Regardless of circumstances, regardless of tournaments, every main event would be five rounds. Don't rob fans of great fights, don't rob fighters of career defining moments.

Five rounds or bust.