Following UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev, there’s been a major debate within the MMA space about how takedowns and takedown defense should be scored by judges.
However, that’s not the only scoring-debate currently raging online; with veteran commentator Joe Rogan now explaining why he thinks submission attempts should also count on the scorecards.
Ironically, former Bloody Elbow editor-in-chief Luke Thomas wrote about this exact issue all the way back in 2009 – and 16 years later, the debate over how submissions are scored in MMA fights still rages on.
Joe Rogan takes issue with submission attempts in MMA scoring
Speaking via the latest episode of the JRE Podcast, Joe Rogan pointed to the lightweight fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira as an example of how submission attempts should be scored.
“Look at the Arman Tsarukyan fight, if you think about that fight with Charles Oliveira – Charles Oliveira caught him multiple times in deep submissions, which I think should count for a lot [in the scoring].
“If I looked at who won that fight, I would say that Oliveira won that fight because he had him in deep trouble.”
Oliveira threatened multiple submissions in that fight, which took place at UFC 300 in April 2024, but the victory was ultimately handed to the Armenian via a razor-close split decision.
“It was kind of a controversial opinion, but I think that a tightly locked triangle or D’Arce choke, or anything along those lines, should be considered winning.
“You are doing something that is very difficult to do [that] your opponent doesn’t want to happen, you’ve dominated the position to the point that you’ve secured the submission and then a guy squeaks out with sweat, technique, or grit – but he was in f—– trouble.”
- OUCH: Joe Rogan’s hilarious UFC 313 flub goes viral as fans mock commentator for ‘young man’ comment
Joe Rogan offers simple solution for painful MMA trend
Submissions in MMA scoring aren’t the only thing that Rogan has taken issue with, in recent months, having also spoken out on the slew of eye-pokes that have sadly ruined several major bouts already this year.
Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong ended in eye-poke controversy; with the recent flyweight main event between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev also featuring a nasty fight-altering foul.
“I keep saying it, but I feel they should cover those fingertips,” Rogan said on his podcast in late 2024: “You’ve got to cover the fingers, there’s no reason to not cover the fingers like a bad glove.
“Just have a piece of leather that goes over the fingertips, so you have one thing. It’s not gonna invade your grappling, and it’s not gonna change your striking. It’s not going to change anything.
“This way, at least if you get poked in the eye you are getting a blunt thing, you are not getting something that goes into your eyeball.”
Given the controversy that came from the UFC’s glove change last year, Rogan’s suggestion of a fingertip cover would be a nice middle-ground that could help reduce fight-ending pokes.
“Have them all covered and have a soft-foamed ridge over the top of it. So even if you are getting poked in the eyes, you are not getting an individual thing going deep into your eyeball with an eyeball, which is what you get now. You get f—– fingernails!”