Following UFC 315 this past Saturday, commentator Jon Anik has suggested a revolutionary rule change following the main event between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.
In the UFC 315 main event on Saturday, Belal Muhammad‘s short welterweight title reign was brought to an end after a five round war with Jack Della Maddalena saw the Australian crowned as the new champion.
If things couldn’t have gotten worse for Muhammad, UFC boss Dana White revealed the injuries he sustained throughout the fight, including a broken nose, a broken orbital bone, and a split lip which likely requires surgery.
Muhammad was widely criticized for his lack of wrestling and he was roasted by longtime UFC rival Khamzat Chimaev, who showed no mercy towards ‘Remember The Name’.
Jon Anik calls for huge rule change following UFC 315
Despite Della Maddalena dominating for the large majority of the fight, the scorecards were relatively close throughout five rounds, with two judges scoring it just 48-47 in favor of the Australian, with the opposing judge scoring it 49-46.
Both Mike Bell and David Therien had the fight 2-2 going into the final round, and fortunately, despite Della Maddalena’s coaches confidently telling him he was winning the fight, he came out and still attempted to finish the fight in round five.
Longtime UFC commentator, Jon Anik, has reacted to the scorecards just a few days removed from the event, suggesting a revolutionizing rule change.
“I had the same 49-46 JDM scorecard as Eric Colon. Mike Bell and David Therien gave Muhammad round one, so this fight came down to the fifth round. Thankfully, Jack Della Maddalena didn’t sit on a lead many of us thought he had. He cemented it. Open scoring would be wild,” Anik said on X.
Despite his ties to Muhammad, Anik scored the fight comfortably in favor of Della Maddalena. Had the fight included open scoring as Anik suggested, Muhammad may have come out in round five more on the front foot.
What is open scoring in MMA?
Although the UFC doesn’t adopt open scoring, there are several MMA promotions that do in fact use open scoring as part of their events.
Open scoring is a system where the judges’ scores for each round are announced so that the fighters and their corners know exactly how the fight is being scored as it is going.
The point of open scoring is that it allows for fighters and their teams to adjust their game plans in real-time as there is more transparency regarding how the fight is going.