Hardly a weekend goes by where we aren’t blindsided with a questionable decision in a notable MMA fight. It happens so many times at this point that we’re becoming desensitized to it.
The overwhelming majority – from fans, commentators and MMA media websites such as the one you’re reading this on — will see a fight scored one way, but judges give a different result. Even in fights in which it seems impossible to not give a unanimous result, one judge will turn in an opposing scorecard.
We are indignant. Everyone on social media screams to high heavens outraged, but by the next weekend of fights, we collectively forget — until the next time it happens. Then the exact same process occurs again. The only people who remember — and they can’t forget even if they tried — are the ones hurt by a wrong decision. Half of a fighter’s paycheck gone, an unjust defeat on their record, and maybe even losing a contract or being released by a promotion. All of these things are consequences of these malicious judging errors.
This is simply a fact. It can’t be debated. It continues to happen, and although I can’t definitely state that nothing is being done about it, whatever is being done is just not working.
Take a recent fight as an example: The UFC on ESPN 43 main event between bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera on March 25. Two of the cageside judges and seemingly everyone else watching saw the fight clearly in Sandhagen’s favor.
I watched that one myself, and as much as I love “Chito,” I think even he would agree that he lost that fight. But, to everyone’s amazement, one judge actually had him winning, creating a split decision result.
I could point out countless more examples of atrocious judging, but you get the gist. It’s terrifying.
What is happening to our sport? We need to understand why unsatisfactory judging continues to happen and how to get to the bottom of it.
With such high stakes, there’s no excuse for any athletic commission to put unqualified judges in position to decide the fate of athletes at the highest level. Anyone sitting in that chair at any event, much less a major event like the UFC, the biggest promotion in the world, has to know what he or she is doing. This isn’t the place to give inexperienced people a test drive.
One thing that could be done is actually receiving an explanation from the judges on how and why they scored each round of a fight as they did, especially when it’s a controversial result. Perhaps they have a perfectly good one, but it would benefit the sport as a whole to hear it.
I think that would go a long way in educating everyone involved about the process happening that can leave us scratching our heads all too often.
Is it the partial vagueness in the scoring criteria that can lead to two completely different views of the same fight? Is that solely the problem that needs improvement? That too many things are open to interpretation?
To me, it’s a no brainer. If I am a fighter, I deserve to understand why a judge scored my fight a particular way.
Over the years, I’ve heard that judges are not allowed – or at least discouraged – from discussing their perspectives, views and reasons for scoring fights in public. I truly think that is an error. This has to change. There needs to be more accountability in this space where people’s livelihood is on the line.
I’m not ignorant to the realities of what I’m calling for. We obviously do not want to expose the judges and commissions and put undo pressure on them, because it’s not an easy job. I understand the negative issues that could potentially arise. But whatever problems might come of it are not more significant than the crisis we’re already facing under this flawed judging infrastructure. Our allegiances should fall to what’s best for the fighters, above all else.
I know some commissions are showing added diligence in reviewing the performance of judges in the immediate aftermath of events and in the days beyond. That is definitely one of the correct things that should be done, but it’s all behind closed doors.
I’m not trying to paint everyone with the same brush. There are many officials working in the sport who are honest, hard-thinking and well-intending individuals that make up these athletic commissions, but we just never get to hear from them.
It’s time for that to change.
More transparency would go a long way, even if we may not always agree with what’s being shared with us. As someone who’s had clients on the winning and losing end of controversial decisions, it would bring a degree of peace. Maybe we are all wrong, and the judges are correct. Maybe the person sitting inches away from the action can point out something unseen by the rest of us and that would validate their scorecard.
We just want to know.
Alex Davis is a veteran manager and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who works with fighters such as Edson Barboza, Thiago Santos, John Lineker, Larissa Pacheco and numerous others
