CSAC overturns 6 month old MMA fight result due to fence grabs
The CSAC overturned the result of an October MMA fight after a fence grab prevented a takedown.
The Level Change Podcast – 237 (Fri. Edition): Dana Said What? Hasbulla’s Animal Cruelty
The Level Change Podcast is our combat sports themed variety show hosted by Stephie Haynes and Victor Rodriguez. We feature discussion on the current weekly news cycle, fight card breakdowns and analysis, a roundup of regional promotions’ cards and fights and whatever else we decide is important enough or entertaining enough to bring to your […]
The Level Change Podcast 236: Examining UFC San Antonio’s post-event headlines
Welcome to The Level Change Podcast, our combat sports themed variety show hosted by Stephie Haynes and Victor Rodriguez. The show features the news of the week, fight card breakdowns and analysis, a roundup of regional promotions’ cards and fights; and whatever else we decide is important enough or entertaining enough to bring to your […]
‘Stupidity!’ – Coach slams commission for blocking his attempts to stop fight in viral referee blunder
Colin Oyama says he even threw a water bottle in the cage to try and stop the fight. Vazquez is now dealing with “possible fractures” and ligament damage.
With controversial judge Doug Crosby, athletic commissions’ actions will speak louder than words
The athletic commissions who used Doug Crosby to judge MMA fights in 2022 have remained silent on their intention to utilize him in that role in 2023. While that’s understandable, the actions of those commissions —and others — will speak much louder in the coming year. Bloody Elbow reached out to the following athletic commissions: […]
Scouring the scoring: There should’ve been 10-8 scores at UFC Vegas 66
No one who saw Rinat Fakhretdinov accumulate 14:11 of control time and limit Bryan Battle to three landed significant strikes at UFC Vegas 66 thinks he didn’t deserve the win. However, there was some disagreement on the scoring of the fight. Specifically, two judges saw two of the rounds 10-8 in favor of Fakhretdinov, while […]
Scouring the Scoring: UFC, MMA and boxing judging controversies
entry-content__stream “> Combat sports are subjective. Unless someone has been knocked out cold or had their arm snapped in two, there’s a good chance some people will disagree with the official outcome. When a fight goes to the judges, whether it be in boxing or MMA, anything can happen. Over the years we have seen […]
Nevada Athletic Commission updates, news and opinions: UFC, MMA, boxing and more
entry-content__stream “> The UFC’s home is in Nevada. So, that state has become the epicenter for all things MMA. Prior to the rise of the Octagon, Las Vegas was already known as one of the fight capitals of the world. Today, the biggest fights still largely happen in the desert and the Nevada Athletic Commission […]
Coach: Controversial UFC 282 judge was ‘combative’ during previous NAC meeting
MMA judge Doug Crosby is currently facing a review and a formal complaint, stemming from his officiating of two events over the weekend. The official in question scored the co-main event bout of UFC 282 in favor of Paddy Pimblett with a 29-28 tally. But what put him in hot water was his 50-45 tally […]
‘Formal complaint’ lodged against controversial judge Douglas Crosby after UFC 282
During the opening moments of Wednesday’s Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting, a “formal complaint” was lodged against MMA judge Douglas Crosby. Every NSAC meeting has time allotted for public comments. Concerned parties can deliver those comments in person or via a call-in number for the meeting. The only public comment made during December’s meeting related […]
Cheating? Referee Herb Dean details what he looks for during controversial fence grabs
In the aftermath of UFC 278, Chael Sonnen claimed Leon Edwards cheated in the lead up to the head kick that knocked out Kamaru Usman and won Edwards the UFC welterweight title. “There’s a lot more in Leon versus Usman and nobody spoke of it,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Kamaru is apparently too […]
‘You’re just plain wrong’ – UFC judge responds to Joe Rogan’s criticism in rare video
Texas MMA judge Seth Fuller uploaded a video directed at Joe Rogan, Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier in response to their comments about his judging at UFC 277. The video, which is nearly 30-minutes long, is an extremely rare example of an MMA judge publicly discussing fights they have adjudicated. What spurred this action from […]
Scouring the scoring: Examining Shane Burgos vs. Charles Jourdain
Shane Burgos and Charles Jourdain put on a spirited featherweight bout on the recent UFC Long Island fight card. Burgos won the contest via majority decision: 29-28, 29-28, 28-28. After the fight, there were some questions about the scoring of the second and third rounds of the contest. Judge Mike Bell gave the second stanza […]
Scouring the scoring: A deep dive into Round 4 of the Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot UFC main event
If you’re of a certain age, you remember the introduction to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. The second sentences of that voiceover is famous — “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” The moment Bruce Buffer read the scores for the main event of UFC Vegas 57 was a perfect encapsulation of those […]
Scouring the scoring: UFC 275 – Shevchenko vs Santos
There was some grumbling about the scoring of the co-main event of UFC 275. In that fight, UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko retained her title with a split-decision win over Taila Santos. On the official front, judge Howard Hughes had it 48-47 for Shevchenko. Clemens Werner saw it even more in favor of the […]
‘Judges need to be held accountable’, Holly Holm’s team rails against officials after loss at UFC Vegas 55
Ketlen Vieira managed to score her second win in a row over former UFC champions this weekend when she took a split decision against Holly Holm. The fight, which happened in the main event slot at UFC Vegas 55, was a close affair with many viewers scoring in favour for Holm. Despite what many fans […]
Scouring the scoring: Matt Brown disagrees with judges in Bryan Barberena fight
Matt Brown was miffed with two of the judges who scored his recent fight at UFC Columbus against Bryan Barberena. “I definitely thought I won,” Brown said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “I think the common consensus was that I won, and then these judges they just — what are we gonna […]
UFC 265 judge tries to defend controversial Rafael Fiziev vs. Bobby Green scorecard
There was a minor uproar online following the UFC 265 following the Rafael Fiziev vs. Bobby Green fight. While Fiziev won the bout via unanimous decision, the 30-27 score from one judge raised eyebrows as most fans and pundits thought the correct call was 29-28, which was the score the other two judges assigned to […]
Scouring the scoring: Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick round 2 controversy
With MMA, the less we hear about the officials the more it means they are doing their jobs correctly. An MMA official is sort of like a doctor in that one of their primary functions is to do no harm. That maxim got put to the test more than once at UFC Vegas 32. The […]
Editorial: UFC commentary on scoring is not good — here’s an easy fix
There were problems with the scoring at UFC Vegas 32, especially in the main event bout between Cory Sandhagen and T.J. Dillashaw. With the judges taking most of the heat, the UFC’s commentary team of Daniel Cormier, Dominick Cruz and Brendan Fitzgerald escaped criticism. They shouldn’t have. Related UFC VEGAS 32: SANDHAGEN VS DILLASHAW | […]
Scouring the scoring: Who deserved the UFC Vegas 32 win, Cory Sandhagen or T.J. Dillashaw?
Heading into Saturday’s UFC Vegas 32 main event, T.J. Dillashaw had not stepped into the UFC octagon since December 2019 thanks to a two-year doping suspension. Dillashaw, who surrendered the UFC bantamweight title after his failed drug test for EPO, faced the No. 2 ranked 135-pound UFC contender, Cory Sandhagen in that fight. Dillashaw left […]
Scouring the scoring: Should Round 1 of Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 3 be a 10-8?
The main event of UFC 264 came to a close at the 5:00 mark of the first round after a broken leg left Conor McGregor unable to continue. The official result of the fight was a Dustin Poirier win via TKO due to doctor stoppage. Because the first round was complete, the judges handed in […]
Scouring the scoring: Round 1 of Virna Jandiroba vs. Kanako Murata
The judges were not needed for the strawweight bout between Virna Jandiroba and Kanako Murata. The bout, which took place on the prelims of UFC Vegas 29, ended at the close of the second round. The doctor waved off the fight after Jandiroba injured Murata’s arm earlier in the fight. Related UFC VEGAS 29: KOREAN […]
CSAC: MMA judging ‘is better now than it ever has been’
There never seems to be a shortage of controversial decisions in the UFC and mixed martial arts, in general. Early this month at UFC Vegas 25, featherweight fighter Kai Kamaka lost a disputed split decision over T.J. Brown, a verdict that his team is planning to appeal. Even Dana White has grown frustrated with MMA […]
UFC fighter refusing to fight in Texas, claims ‘commission is f—ked’
Steven Peterson first entered the UFC Octagon in 2017 in a split decision loss to Benito Lopez on the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series. After that loss he rebounded with a win in LFA and was then signed to the UFC proper. Since then Peterson has fought five times under the big lights […]
Video: Dana White rips into UFC 259 judges, ‘this 10-8 s—t is out of control’
At UFC 259 Jan Blachowicz defended his UFC light heavyweight title against reigning UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz ran out the winner on the scorecards thanks to his ability to out-wrestle and pin down Stylebender in the championship rounds. The end result was a unanimous decision win for the Pole with two out of […]
UFC 254 Scorecards: Khabib was down after one round
In the main event of UFC 254 Khabib Nurmagomedov earned a definitive victory over Justin Gaethje to defend his UFC lightweight title. To get the win ‘The Eagle’ used a triangle choke to put Gaethje to sleep in the second round. The 29-0 Dagestani then put his gloves down in the center of the cage […]
Feature: What’s keeping open scoring out of combat sports?
What’s the matter with Kansas? That’s the question many athletic commissions are asking with the state’s embrace of real time scoring in both boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. It’s not Kansas that has things backwards — it’s everyone else. The idea of encouraging open-scoring in combat sports is taboo among a lot of the old-timers. […]
MMA rule changes? Future Poirier-Alvarez 1 situations could play out differently
When then #3 ranked UFC lightweight Eddie Alvarez and #9 ranked Dustin Poirier first met last year at UFC 211, Alvarez was looking to rebound from his KO title loss to Conor McGregor while Poirier could’ve used a nice jump up in the rankings to perhaps get another look at The Notorious One. In an […]
McCarthy clears up confusion surrounding judging criteria and MMA’s new rules
It’s a familiar sequence of words to fight fans, “A 10-Point Must scoring system is in effect. The round winner gets 10 points, his or her opponent nine or fewer, and scoring is based on effective striking and grappling, followed by aggression and Octagon control, in that order.” Then comes whether the new Unified Rules […]