UFC commentator Jon Anik believes judging is as big of an issue as it’s ever been in MMA.
Inconsistent judging has long been an issue, but it was never more highlighted than during the weekend of both Bellator 289 and UFC 282, which took place one day apart on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10. The judge at the center of controversy was Doug Crosby, who is notorious for questionable scorecards that go against his colleagues.
Responding to a Twitter poll asking if Crosby or Sal D’Amato, Anik offered a grave statement on MMA judging.
“I’m not sure the state of MMA judging has ever been worse, quite frankly,” Anik tweeted. “I’m looking forward to getting back to Vegas next year to have some conversations…”
Anik, who serves as the UFC’s lead play-by-play announcer, added that he’s “spent dozens of hours speaking with commissioners, referees, judges, and scoring experts over the last two years” in an attempt to better understand the scoring criteria and how to apply it.
Crosby scored the Bellator 289 interim bantamweight title fight between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello 50-45 in favor of Sabatello, which was drastically different than the other two judges, who had it 48-47 in favor of Stots, the winner by split decision.
The controversy didn’t stop there for Crosby, who the next day traveled across the country from Uncasville, Conn., site of Bellator 289, to Las Vegas and scored the UFC 282 co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Jared Gordon 29-28 in favor of Pimblett. All three judges scored the fight that way, giving Pimblett a unanimous decision win, which was met with a ton of criticism.
When a Twitter user suggested to Anik that boxing’s 10-must system doesn’t work for MMA, Anik said that was “100 (percent) true” but was skeptical about “wholesale changes on that level” taking place.
Anik concluded by creating his own poll to see what people thought of this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 216 headliner between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland. Cannonier defeated Strickland by split decision in another close fight. All three judges’ scorecards read 49-46 – two in favor of Cannonier and one for Strickland.
Sean Strickland v. Jared Cannonier. Another close fight which seemingly could've gone either way. Would love to know, for purposes of today's @AnikFlorianPod taping, how you scored it. Cheers…
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) December 20, 2022
