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.