I had a conversation with Doug Crosby, and he said that during one of the [UFC] fights, one of these boxing people that have come over and started judging MMA…someone was attempting a submission, and this person turned to him and said, ‘what is he doing?’ How CRAZY is that? This is a professional mixed martial arts judge at the highest level of the sport, someone who is judging an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, between two guys that are professional fighters….their careers are on the line, it’s a huge contest, two equally skilled guys in a hotly contested match, and the judge has literally no idea what’s going on.
Joe Rogan, relating an anecdote about judging incompetence to Josh Gross.
I strongly disagree with Rogan’s assessment of the UFC 104 and UFC 105 main event judging, but his point is sound. It’s hard to overstate how outrageous this is. In MMA, winning or losing a fight can be the difference between getting on the title track and making millions or getting cut if you lose one more fight. A ton is on the line, and incompetent athletic commissions can’t be bothered to hire judges that know what a kimura is.
As fans, we must demand regulatory reform.