News Ngannou speaks out against incompetent judges

[M.U.S.C.L.E.]

So basically MMA follows 99% of what other sports do?

Exactly!
LOL, it already happens all the time in 3 round fights. If a fighter is confident he's up after two rounds, he plays it safe in the 3rd.
Not a huge change.

 

[Tweak896]

Open scoring, then some of the fighters can push harder at the end rather than cruising thinking they are up.

 

[JosephTessaro]

So in a fight what comes priority? Damage or cage/ring control?

Because by answering that question, an answer to who really won the fight between TJ and Sandhagen also comes forth into the spotlight.

Many fights do...not just TJ/Sandhagen...

 

[Ken Fresno]

We need accountability, transparency, education, and a general agreement of universal criteria for scoring.

Since none of that is happening… let’s just add 2 more idiots and reduce their influence.

 

[Ken Fresno]

Open scoring, then some of the fighters can push harder at the end rather than cruising thinking they are up.

Have you or any of the other open scoring advocates stopped to think about the fighter winning 2-0 cruising the 3rd?

Why wouldn’t you want fighters to always think it could be 1-1 in the 3rd?

you would rather they know when it’s 2-0? So u can have 1 fighter pressing and 1 coasting instead of both pressing?

But I feel like if you thought it through that far you would also google to find that it’s been done and it doesn’t work.

 

[Ares Black]

I have to disagree with you on this one. Adding two more incompetent judges would only make things worse.

BTW I wonder what fight Ngannou could possibly be referencing? Hmmm...

I get what you are saying, but here's my reasoning: First of all, not all judges are incompetent. Some clearly are, like Sal D'Amato and Dave Hagen, but many judges get it right most of the time. Even some of the incompetent judges can't screw up ALL the time.

5 judges instead of 3 means that for a robbery to occur you would need 3 judges to fuck up instead of 2. It would still happen, like if you had D'Amato, Hagen, and Adelaide Byrd scoring the fight, but statistically it would be less likely.

Ideally there should be even more judges than that, to further reduce the impact of any one shitty judge, but that's not really realistic at this point.

More judges, better training for judges, more accountability for shitty judges. I just hate that there are zero consequences for judges blowing it as badly as they did on Saturday.

 

[Pizza Werewolf]

I vote for 5 judges and 2 referees.
Also the refs are allowed to fight when one goes in for a stoppage if the other one thinks its too early.

 

[Ares Black]

Have you or any of the other open scoring advocates stopped to think about the fighter winning 2-0 cruising the 3rd?

Why wouldn’t you want fighters to always think it could be 1-1 in the 3rd?

you would rather they know when it’s 2-0? So u can have 1 fighter pressing and 1 coasting instead of both pressing?

But I feel like if you thought it through that far you would also google to find that it’s been done and it doesn’t work.

I am a big supporter of open scoring, and frankly I was worried about that, but in all of the cards where I have seen it used the hasn't happened at all.

Of course, this is in promotions like Invicta and LFA, where the pay is very low and making an impression is very important. If the stakes were higher and someone's win bonus was at stake, maybe that would happen.

I think that if they did away with win bonuses that would be a good start. If anything that encourages people playing it safe more than open scoring ever could.

 

[Ares Black]

I vote for 5 judges and 2 referees.
Also the refs are allowed to fight when one goes in for a stoppage if the other one thinks its too early.

 

[Rawplier]

I am a big supporter of open scoring, and frankly I was worried about that, but in all of the cards where I have seen it used the hasn't happened at all.

Of course, this is in promotions like Invicta and LFA, where the pay is very low and making an impression is very important. If the stakes were higher and someone's win bonus was at stake, maybe that would happen.

I think that if they did away with win bonuses that would be a good start. If anything that encourages people playing it safe more than open scoring ever could.

Open scoring with a finish bonus, that's a start.

 

[SuperNerd]

Make the judges show their faces and explain their decisions after the event, or even have them write a written explanation and have them public.

I bet this change would magically improve judging.

The judges are not confident or accountable right now. Let them shame themselves into putting in the work, or stepping aside.

 

[Savagewolf]

We need mandatory fighting experience + judge training or mma training + judge training before they can take a position to judge a fight. The MMA training or actual mma fighting experience would catch judges up on what is actually happening in the ring so they have a fuller understanding of what should and should not be scored.

 

[dkjt]

There is no ring control if a fighter is backing up on purpose and hitting the other fighter while doing so. If you’re controlling on a cage there needs to be a dominance shown where the guy can’t just reverse. If you take someone down that’s not doing anything to stop a takedown and you do 0 damage and the fighter gets up then your takedown is meaningless. TJ controlled nothing.

Wait what, so if i am not trying to block a punch and you punch me and I walk through it with my Mark Hunt chin you score no points?

 

[Siver!]

I've been saying this for a while. It's not a solution but it would reduce the chance of a bad decision.

The only downside of 5 judges it increases the likelihood of a Split Decision - which isn't inherently bad so long as the actual winner actually wins, but in terms of sifting through endless split decisions when researching fights and fighters, that could be a pain.

I guess they could dismiss an outlying vote: if it's 4-1, ignore the 1, call it a unanimous... I dunno.

 

[Goldentrophy]

AI strikes scoring while the judges judge octagon control and grappling. Judges then use both aspects to dictate who won the round.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

5 judges would help instead of 3.

No it wouldn't. It would cause more confusion.

Honestly MMA should take the Lethwei approach. If the fight doesn't end in a stoppage it's a draw.

 

[Yep]

Wait what, so if i am not trying to block a punch and you punch me and I walk through it with my Mark Hunt chin you score no points?

I was going to use wait what as my username btw. So in your scenario Kris beats O’Malley, right? Now, if you walk forward absorbing damage and hand out damage that’s different. However, in a scenario like TJ’s plodding forward swinging and missing and getting countered with pin point accuracy should not result in points or construed as controlling the octagon.

 

[Carlos Calderon]

I think spectators must be the judges.

 

[Siver!]

AI strikes scoring while the judges judge octagon control and grappling. Judges then use both aspects to dictate who won the round.

Not unless AI strike scoring was reliable, which it definitely isn't from any broadcast I've ever seen.

 

[tramendous]

This causes too much recency bias. Expecting judges to remember the details of a 15 or 25 min fight is asking for disaster.

It was easy in pride because they looked at damage and finishing attempts (i.e. knockdowns, rocking your opponent or close submission attempts).