...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By Bjorn "Norwegian Nightmare" Hansen, MMATorch contributor
In the aftermath surrounding the controversial decision in WEC 43's fight-of-the-year main event, Cerrone vs Henderson, I couldn't help but think of Assuncao and Jabouin's 30-27 debacle and wonder: How is this still happening?
The UFC has been gaining mainstream acceptance by pitting the world's best fighters against each other on a seemingly even playing field no matter what their martial preference is. The matchmaking and caliber of fighting are in line with that criteria, but despite the UFC's enormity, it still falls victims to the same crimes suffered at more diminutive promotions: Bad unpredictable officiating.
As most others I'm sure, I was hoping that Big John McCarthy ("BJM") was going to make his return to UFC refereeing at UFC 104. Once again, the state commission didn't feel the need to issue him a license. Call it payback as Big John tore through the credibility of every commission to shreds in an interview a couple years back with The Garv:
"I didn't believe that there were people being put into positions that had the ability to judge fights or referee fights that knew what they were doing. That bothered me. It bothered me because I'm looking at a judge that is gonna judge a fighter's fight and he doesn't understand what those fighters are doing. And this person has the ability to affect the fighter's livelihood. And it's wrong. And I felt like a hypocrite because I worked for the commission and they were allowing this kind of person to be in a position of power and to have that say over who's going to win the fight."
Does BJM have a point here? Perhaps the UFC has outgrown the State Athletic Commission's ability to adhere to the Unified Rules of MMA. Think about it, if you were a basketball fan would you want to see the referees from the NBADL officiating in the NBA Finals? Like that annoying squeak your old car made that you eventually grew completely oblivious to after time, we've settled for subpar judging and officiating at major promotions not realizing our acceptance of mediocrity. Especially when you consider that MMA is teetering on the brink of mainstream approval, it makes this issue all the more critical. We're not in the dark ages anymore fellas. This is about presenting MMA as two fighters competing evenly, in order to take advantage of the present opportunity and find MMA a permanent home in the spotlights of major networks.
Fans condemn anything that disturbs a level playing field in any sport to be sacrilege. Some baseball fans won't even consider any homerun statistics coming from the modern era because of how prevalent steroid use has become. Like I said before, the UFC is holding up its side of the bargain by putting up competitive matchups between fighters of relatively equal skill, so you can't fault them there. Let's take a look at a relevant excerpt from the Unified Rules of MMA.
"The Committee strongly suggests that each Commission utilize properly trained mixed martial arts judges and referees and continually evaluate their performances and competency. In addition, post-event performance reviews should be conducted and training and review courses should be regularly held for all officials, including inspectors." (italics and bold added)
Suggests?!? Should be?!??! Is that the proper language to be using in the chief governing document of a budding sport hoping to be get recognized by ESPN mainstream elitists? Ever since the Phil Donahue situation in NBA refereeing, I thought third parties would be better fit to govern refereeing in sports because of the financial conflict of interest involved when you pay your own referees.
But you know what? Maybe it's time the UFC (no other promotion is big enough to be heard) starts campaigning for legislation that gives it the same sovereignty that the NFL and NBA has. Let's face it; The State Athletic Commissions need to have their own supervising commission. These regulators, the State Athletic Commission, need to be regulated. No matter what the Unified Rules say, if the rules aren't followed, then what difference does it make?
As a Band-Aid solution for the short term, wouldn't it help if judges were obligated to state a "deciding factor" between "effective striking, grappling, aggression, and cage control" as part of their post-fight routine? At least fighters and trainers would have a heads up as to which way a judge leans in regards to scoring. This would add transparency to a process that is very much unclear. Game plans would be built accordingly from each fight camp. This way fighter's would be in a position to anticipate the judge's tendencies and thus be more in control of his/her own destiny. In other words, the resulting playing field would be more leveled.
BJM has been with modern MMA since some saw the sport as a human cockfighting spectacle. That was a time when fighters consciously targeted the groin and back of the head of their opponents. Even back then, BJM conducted himself with the professionalism of someone who takes his craft very seriously. He held out the sport to be something more than men trying to take cheap shots, and helped play a role, albeit a minor one, in helping create the Unified Rules of MMA. BJM was a visionary back then, and I think he sees a brighter future for refereeing/judging in MMA.
Regardless of whether it be clearer and more directive language in the Unified Rules, or saying "In Dana We Trust" and letting the UFC handle the matter itself like the rest of the major sport leagues do, I think it's time to start talking about what exactly is wrong and how it can be fixed. We know the public is knocking on MMA's door. The question is, is MMA's refereeing/judging competent enough to open it?
===
Look for MMATorch columnist Bjorn "Norwegian Nightmare" Hansen's weekly column on Thursdays as part of a new expanded line-up of daily MMATorch editorial columnists taking shape this month. You can email Raw and Spirited feedback at bjorn.hansen@fiu.edu
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
