Inconsistency in the judging of MMA bouts is something that has been an issue for many years. However, now that the sport has reached such a high level with fighters’ careers potentially being made or broken on decisions, there is no longer a place for erratic judging decisions.
By Michael Cunningham
Already in 2011 there have been a string of head scratching decisions from judges, most notably in the UFC. The question of who should have won the main event at UFC 125 between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was hotly debated and a rematch is already booked.
At UFC 127 in Sydney, Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring walked away with a miraculous decision win over Riki Fukuda. The three judges ringside scored the bout 29-28 for Ring. It seems unlikely anyone else in attendance did as the crowd booed loudly at the decision. Even Ring looked surprised when his name was called out. UFC President Dana White immediately posted on his Twitter, “Judges f**king suck again!! Fukuda got robbed!!!”
Despair
However, since this fight was in Australia and not in the United States, the UFC was free to bring any judges it chose. White and the UFC love to throw their hands up in despair at the Athletic Commissions appointing poor judges, but on this occasion, despite White’s ravings, it was the UFC who dropped the ball.
Poor judging was again a factor at a main event when Jon Fitch v BJ Penn was declared a majority draw. When you look at the numbers presented in FightMetric’s report on the bout it tells a much different story. In terms of strikes, Fitch out-landed Penn a staggering 149-2 in round three and 231-48 overall. Yet when interviewed afterwards Dana White said that he did not believe the third round was a 10-8 round. If that’s the case then what exactly constitutes a 10-8 round? Complete dominance or how close the fight is to being finished?
Is one takedown more valuable then stuffing the 14 attempts prior to it? This is something that needs to be clarified.
At UFC on Versus 3 there was another highly questionable judges decision after a highly entertaining bout between Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann. It was hugely compelling bout, with both fighters constantly looking to engage. However, according to FightMetric stats Kampmann finished 77 significant strikes to 51 from Sanchez and stuffed 14 of 15 takedown attempts. Is one takedown more valuable then stuffing the 14 attempts prior to it? This is something that needs to be clarified.
In many of the highlight replays shown after each round, it was clear to see that Kampmann was landing far more precise strikes, while Sanchez rushed forward with both hands swinging. He may have been the one trying to push the pace of the fight but he absorbed tremendous punishment for doing so, as could be seen by the damage done to his face (pictured above).
Attack-minded
Sanchez, always an incredibly attack-minded fighter, used these displays of reckless aggression to convince the judges that he had done enough to come away with the victory. This approach is stylistically very similar to Leonard Garcia who has some highly questionable decision wins, one over ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung as well as a simply shocking decision over former Ultimate Fighter contestant Nam Phan. Indeed, Dana White found the decision win in favour of Garcia so ridiculous he met Phan backstage and agreed to give him his win bonus despite the official decision.
The UFC and White felt compelled to offer Phan a rematch with Garcia which is slated for the end of March. However, this can’t be considered an ideal solution for the problem of bad judging when it happens.
The UFC and other MMA organisations need to get involved in educating judges on the correct way to view and score a fight. White may criticise the Commissions but if he considers them unable for the task, and their performance to date suggests they are, then it’s up to promoters to intercede.
It’s clear from crowd reactions that a lot have things have changed – audiences are more educated about what’s happening in the fights they watch. Nothing leaves a bad taste in the mouth of fans like witnessing a clear wrong decision.
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