As we depart UFC 208
controversy is raging over the calls made by Todd Anderson to not
take a point Germaine de Randamie after she hit Holly Holm after the
horn had gone off to ends rounds two and three. Instead Anderson
simply warned her twice and told Holm he be faster in breaking up the
action. Many felt the fouls were blatant enough at least one point
should have been taken. Also many are debating a number of decisions
made by the judges most notably Anderson Silva’s win over Derek
Brunson. Many fans are upset and the usual backlash lands at the UFC.
However the UFC did not appoint the referees or Judges. Combat sports
rather it be MMA, Boxing, or Kickboxing are under the jurisdiction of
various athletic commission. UFC 208 fell to the New York commission
UFC 209 will belong to Nevada. International events fall to other
bodies for the example the British Boxing Control Board. For a long
time I have found this ridicules. Professional athletes competing in
major world championship fights with millions of dollars on the line
could be dealing with a referee that has never worked a major event
before.
I watch a lot of MMA
and Todd Anderson is someone I don’t believe I had ever seen
before. Kenny Florian also stated it was Anderson’s first major
main event. Meanwhile experienced and highly regarded referees such
as John McCarthy, Herb Dean, or Jason Herzog didn’t even work the
event. Think about something like that happening in the NFL with the
recent Super Bowl. Think about if the Patriots game winning run was
ruled short because it was inexperienced referees? It didn’t happen
because the NFL has the ability to hire and over see its game day
officials. They have grading systems in place so better referees are
put in charge of championship games. Same with Baseball or NBA
basketball or NASCAR racing. Yet in a fight the fighters are at the
mercy of states.
The main argument
against granting such power is corruption as promoters would favor
stars or draws. However the same thing could happen in other sports.
The NHL’s ratings have been done for a decade or more NASCAR has
seen rating and attendance drop as well. Both would have reason to
favor or attempt to force bigger names into championship situations.
Hell the NBA has a major scandal when a referee admitted he gambled
and fell into debt. Baseball dealt with Pete Rose. I am also not say
eliminate all oversight. But let the UFC decide who is in control of
there title fights. Same with boxing. Let the promoters and in
boxing’s case the sanctioning bodies of the championships pick the
referees and judges. Have the states there to oversee and make sure
any and official's aren’t being shady.
Also corruption
still happens take the case of Drew Dober. Dober is the kind of
fighter that only hard core fans would really know. He’s been with
the UFC since 2013 trading wins for losses. He’s never main evented
a show or come close to being a title contender. Dober is the kind of
guy that every win can or loss can make or break him. In March of
2015 Dober was in Brazil to fight Leandro Silva. During the second
round Silva got Dober in a guillotine choke. Just as Dober manged to
get his head free the referee stepped in and stopped the fight
awarding Silva a technical submission win. Many were upset and
couldn’t believe the referee could make such a huge mistake.
However in the days after the fight it was relived that Silva and the
referee were training partners.
That even was
overseen by CAMMA the body that controls MMA in Brazil. Fortunately
once all the facts came out the loss for Dober was turned into a no
contest. But it shows just that have a third party oversee the event
doesn’t remove all situations with corruption.
I would even consent
the state could and should have more power in cases for a small time
show. But when you have promoters like the UFC which was just sold
for four billion dollars, Top Rank which has been in business for
fifty years etc not have some control. Again you could work it like
other major sports do. Have a pool of like 20 referees and 100
judges. You could also have the fighters grade referees and judges in
a effort to see who they view as the fair ones. Higher graded
officials will work the biggest shows with biggest fight. Lower
graded ones will have a chance to work for a better grade on smaller
shows.
There is another
reason why I think power should be taken away from states and its the
ongoing situation with the unified rules of MMA. Last years a number
of changes were made to the long standing rules for MMA in the united
states. There rules were meant to clear up scoring, when a fighter is
down making certain blows illegal. Now I am not opposed to updating
the rules. How ever the issues becomes that as we start 2017 some
states have adopted the new rules while others stand by the old ones.
Again could you see this happening in any other major sport? Its
ridicules to think a fight booked in Texas could have different rules
than one set for New York a week later. It won’t fix all the
problems but it’s time to let the promoters have the power.
