Downsides Of Open Scoring In MMA/UFC
The sport of MMA has gone through a lot of changes over the last three decades. A sport that was once seen as barbaric has reached mainstream levels, the same ones as football. But at the same time, a lot of things have remained the same, like the problem with MMA judging for instance.
In fact, this is a bit weird because this issue has a direct impact on the quality of the final product. However, in recent times, you can hear many people advocating for a change with one of the initial solutions being the famous “open scoring”.
Or in other words, live scoring would be transparent and everyone would know who is winning the rounds as the fight goes. Though reasonable, open scoring has more than a few cons so be sure to read this article to learn more.
Open scoring is a big distraction
With all due respect, MMA is not football and basketball where the main goal is to put the ball in the net. No, it is a sport where athletes put their lives on the line each time they step inside the cage to compete. During the fight, their bodies are pumped with adrenalin, fear, aggression, testosterone, and their entire focus is on how to hurt the person in front. The last thing they need to know in between the rounds is that they have lost the round despite their best efforts.
Once the round is over, you can often see fighters pumped and overhyped in the corner, and this is normal. However, this is not a mental state where you can be rational when it comes to judging, or even thinking much about it. Knowing that you have just lost the round could only make you angrier and turn the focus away from the match itself. All of a sudden, you would see fighters arguing with their coaches about the scoring, or maybe even unleashing a word or two toward the judges.
The thing is, coaches have just 1 minute to give a fighter much-needed advice on strategy, maybe lift up their spirits and fire them up for the next round. This on its own is really hard to do while the crowd is roaring, the cutman is trying to stop the bleeding, not to mention cameras next to their faces.
On top of that, their fighter might be concussed, gassed, or look demoralized. The last thing that coaches need in this situation is to argue over the scoring.
Puts more pressure on the judges
The truth is MMA judges, notably the ones who judge high level UFC bouts, do not have to deal with huge criticism or massive public backlash after controversial calls. If you think they do, then you should follow some other sports like soccer in Europe, or basketball where referees receive death threats quite often. In MMA, you won’t hear about these things (which is great) because they operate under far less pressure, but this might change with open scoring.
First, be sure that the crowd is going to give them huge boos each time they make a bad call. On one side, it’s good to let them know that they have made a bad call. But on the other side, it’s going to increase the pressure and they might judge the remaining rounds not based on criteria and rules, but to satisfy the opinion of the crowd. Huge boos and maybe insults from the spectators might play with their confidence and ability to focus on the fight. This is wrong on so many levels and can only make the situation worse than it is. Both judges and fans should focus on what is happening inside the cage.
No matter how experienced they are, the judges are humans too and with that, have the right to make mistakes and there is a way to work a way around this. For instance, one of the solutions is to show the scoring, but not display the name of the judges in real-time.
May lead to unpleasant situations
If you are following other sports, then you can often see athletes arguing with the judges and referees in the middle of the match all the time. Although the concept of combat sports is a bit different, don’t think for a second that open scoring won’t lead to these types of unpleasant situations. Just imagine fighters arguing with judges between the rounds, asking for explanations, or maybe even trying to overturn the decision. Yes, this sounds crazy, but bear in mind that fighters pumped with adrenalin, anger, and fears are not that rational in the heat of the moment.
And it is not just about the fighters as their corner might decide to interact. In fact, this is even worse because they might start yelling and insulting judges as the fight is playing out inside the cage. Once again, this is a massive distraction for both coaches and judges who are now putting their focus away from what’s happening in a fight.
On one side, you have a judge who will probably make a bad call, maybe even gets angry and give the round to the opposite fighters simply because they got insulted. On the other, the corner will miss the action and fail in giving their fighter advice on how to win the fight.
Last but not least, you might even see promoters getting into a verbal argument with the judges. Bear in mind that judges are independent and have no interest in how the MMA business is doing. Just remember how many times Dana White went on a full rant on the judges during the post-fight press conferences.
Turns the focus away from the fighting itself
Watch any UFC fight and you will hear color commentators spending around 1 minute per round (subjective feeling) talking about who is winning the fight, why he/she is winning, and how the judges might see it. With open scoring, they would talk and analyze even more about why the judges have given a round to fighter A, and how that’s going to have an impact on the rounds to follow.
Pull up any post-fight press conference, a popular MMA podcast, or those short fighter interviews and you will hear the same. Now, this will go to another level with open scoring, which among many other things presented above, would simply overwhelm the entire sport. The judges are already receiving too much attention and open scoring would make it even worse.
Negative impact on entertainment
This is a well-known downside of open scoring in MMA and a serious problem if you are a fight promoter like the UFC or Bellator. Entertainment is key to successfully running your business and any change that might have an impact on this aspect is a huge no-no. But how might open scoring lead to less entertaining fights?
Let’s assume that fighter A has won the first two rounds, so coming into the third, they would know they are ahead. Instead of pushing for finishing or taking any risks, they might focus on “bringing” the fight to the end and winning a decision. They might secure a top position and just control the opponent there until the end. They might also decide to move around and avoid any wild exchange on the feet. On the other side, this forces the losing fighter to press more and take risks to knock the opponent out or submit them on the ground. But overall, open scoring will force both fighters to go out of their element.
Scoring is a complicated process but we would love to hear your thoughts on it below. Let us know what you think.
