Judging Change: Reward Flashy Fighters?
Cross-Posted at HeadKickLegend
With all this talk of judging from Ortiz v. Griffin, I thought it appropriate to share this news about judging in the world of kickboxing.
In an interesting move, It's Showtime announced a change to their judging criteria effective as of this weekend's show. In case of decision, judges will now give an advantage in scoring to fighters who display a more attractive fighting style and show more spirit. This would be applied to close decisions, and would not impact fights where one man is clearly ahead on strikes. The idea is that this will inspire fighters to put in greater effort and cut down on slow fights.
Obviously, this is a pretty big change, and I am unaware of any other fighting organization who has a similar rule. In the past, organizations have used stand-ups (in MMA) and penalty cards to keep the action moving. Perhaps the closest corollary is Pride's heavy reliance on "effort to finish a fight" in their judging criteria, but this is somewhat different, as it is not based on effective of technique, but instead on style.
This is a bold move that could be great or could cause a lot of headaches. An organization that has faced its share of judging controversy in the past (such as last year's Buakaw v. Kraus fight), It's Showtime is clearly willing to try something new here. But the danger in my eyes is that this will too greatly muddy the already somewhat vague judging criteria. Judges will have to ask themselves: at what point does the flashiness outweigh the effectiveness? If a fighter is putting on a beautiful capoeira demonstration, but not actually doing much damage, is he gaining points for style? And the reverse, does a cautious, defensive fighter like Remy Bonjasky get penalized for his conservative approach? The answer, according to the new rules, would seem to be yes.
As a new system, we will have to see how this plays out before making any quick judgments, but I think it's fair to have some concerns. The adage "If it's ain't broke don't fix it" doesn't really apply here. Judging in kickboxing and all combat sports is indeed problematic. But adding more nebulous criteria is not a solution to that problem - if anything, it threatens to make judging worse.
It will be worth watching what effect this has on It's Showtime, and on the fight world if anyone else follows their lead.
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4 recs |
5 comments
Comments
Any time you try to create more exciting fights, you’re just inviting more controversy.
by MMAEruption on Nov 23, 2009 9:24 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
They are solving the wrong problem.
Bloody hell.
by 3PA on Nov 23, 2009 9:36 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
it would get rid of the manny g's and jake shields of the mma world
i want good, exciting, entertaining fights. that is not much to ask for.
yes i am obsessive, obnoxious, in your face and all about covering the spread. those are my good qualities.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 25, 2009 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
What about K-1? I mean if you can’t stomach the ground work of manny MAYBE mma isn’t for you. I say this because manny ain’t (by far) the worst lay n prayer out there, and jake shield did it once, not really because he wanted to, mostly because he couldn’t do anything else this one time.
10/24
by spectaa on Nov 27, 2009 9:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
In a draw situation, this would be great IMO.
Detractors will of course say that this will lead to judges awarding decisions to the fighter who looked best or appeared more spirited.and not necessarily who the better fighter was. I would answer them with the last 3 UFC main event decisions. All the had faulty judging in one form or another, and that is undeniable as is evidenced by the vast public and professional backlash.
I think if this rule is reserved only for fights that are otherwise a complete toss-up or a draw. Why not? Judges are gonna fudge on the rules one way or another for the forseeable future, might as well award these types of fights to the more spirited fighter. I think this is a better criteria than whose style is more attractive. Semmy Schilt would agree with me on this. Just because it isn’t attractive doesn’t mean it’s not winning the fight. The spirited and harder working fighter being rewarded though, would be a welcome addition to me.
by TDITZ on Nov 23, 2009 2:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

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