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Around SBN: The Gift Of The 2003 Tigers

Mixed Martial Arts Referees Deserve Leeway to Be Imperfect

Ben Fowlkes makes the case:

The real problem, as "Big" John McCarthy pointed out, is time. An MMA referee often doesn't have it on his side. A fighter gets hit, goes down, and his opponent is on top of him immediately. It's a referee's job to determine whether the fighter is momentarily stunned, perhaps hurt, or already on his way into unconsciousness. And the official has to make this decision in a hurry, because the other fighter is already cocking his fist back to deliver another blow.

There's no knockdown rule to give the ref a chance to assess the situation, so he has to make a split-second decision. And sometimes it's going to be the wrong decision. That's part of the sport, and it always will be. Unless we want sweeping rules changes to make MMA more like boxing (and we don't), this is something we're going to have to live with.

It doesn't mean our world is coming to an end. It doesn't mean there are no qualified refs. It just means that this is a difficult job, and it's not getting any easier. The best we can ask for is refs who are experienced, educated -- on all aspects of MMA, not just the stand-up portion -- and decisive.

There are a few already who fit that description -- most of the time. But even they aren't going to get it right all the time. They can't. The best they can do is learn from their own mistakes and try not to repeat them. And if they can't do that, then they should find a new line of work. But let's not lose our heads over this just yet. There are still enough good refs in MMA to get us through the night.

Looking for completeness or tidiness in the execution or efficiency of MMA refereeing will always prove illusory. Even if the process by which referees are educated and trained systemically improves, MMA is systemically going to create situations where individual subjective judgment fails to cohere with the prevailing wisdom of the majority. To what extent error can be shaved off is debatable and an important topic to revisit early and often, but the reality is that referees will continue to make poor decisions that affect health and wealth.

But how ineffective is the current refereeing arrangement? The current balance of improper judgments has produced some admittedly costly errors, but the existing crop of referees is by no means some sort of dramatic failure either.

The far more important issue to the sport is not incompetent refereeing, but poor judging. A referee is prone to error, but is also performing several functions at once. He must not only monitor the health of the fighters and when they are or aren't capable of fighting, they must enforce the rules of unarmed combat as well. Throw in intense moments that require snap judgment and of course we've created a problematic situation. But judges have one real function: evaluate who is winning or won the fight. They have the opportunity to sit without obstruction, observe the contest, think about each fighters' performance between rounds and cerebrally evaluate performace. Their job is fraught with difficulties, to be fair. But the incidence of poor judging is far too high given the opportunity to get matters right and when combined with poor refereeing, creates a toxic mess.

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Comments

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How does one go about becoming an MMA judge?

by Derek Suboticki on Mar 29, 2009 4:18 PM EDT reply actions  

It varies by commission, but it can involve formal training by the state at how to do so. Then it involves a graduated process of evaluating matches from the amateur level on up. Sometimes they’ll be asked to ref boxing and kickboxing. Then eventually they work their way up. Refereeing is done similarly. In VA, for example, Mario Yamasaki teaches the classes to become certified and then gets you placed in various commission judging jobs. They also ask you to do work like score keeping, clock keeper, etc.

On the other hand, some states just draft members of the boxing community or those working various positions on the commission itself. What I’ve described above is the ideal scenario that is starting to play itself out. Alas, not as common as it should be.

by Luke Thomas on Mar 29, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions  

I was in Denver last night supporting the local MMA scene (Jesse Taylor won the King of Champions’ 185 lb belt), and there were at least two fights that were (in my opinion) horrifically judged. I’ll be contacting the athletic board to see if I can get on board.

Everyone on this board should try to do the same – the only way we’re going to get good judges is to bring them up from the grassroots, and the only way to do that is to get people that truly love the sport to actively participate in its advancement and development. Plus, you get to see the fights for free from the best seat in the house.

by Derek Suboticki on Mar 29, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

I play rugby and in Newfoundland (Canada!!) and there is a shortage of refs that are capable of doing the job. We have started to recruit former players that have retired from competition to take referee courses and hopefully in a few years we will have a few more refs that have a working knowledge of the sport to ref it properly.

Why not in combat sports. This is an industry were careers are often too short for an athlete to make a lifetime of money and this could be an opportunity for those guys to stay in the sport they love and make a living at it (I’m assuming judges and refs get paid well!!!!) If the judges and refs have a better understanding of the sport itself then they would arguably be better at the job.

Take Cecil Peoples, he is a boxing guy. Now he has both refs and judges MMA. He has had some controversial moments in both reffing and judging but with time, practice and I’m assuming training he has become a better judge (not sure if he still refs)

Take Herb Dean, other than Big John he is the best ref out there on the major shows (in my opinion). He was a fighter and is very knowledgeable about the sport itself and that makes him a smarter referee.

As long as the retired fighters have no affiliation with currents camps or any personal bias towards a fighter they are reffing or judging I believe this could be way to bring better refs into the sport and take care of guys that don’t know anything else but fighting.

by Bucco169 on Mar 29, 2009 5:15 PM EDT reply actions  

Forrest Petz does a good job of reffing fights in northern ohio. He doesn’t ref when guys from our team are fighting, but I honestly don’t think it would make a difference if he did. I definitely think fighters make the best refs.

Getting knowledgeable people into the commissions is a slow process.

by penxv on Mar 29, 2009 10:25 PM EDT up reply actions  

humans are imperfect, the world is not ending.

"King of NBA Live '09"

by #5mmafan on Mar 29, 2009 5:43 PM EDT reply actions  

Accountability

Though I agree poor judging is more rampant than poor reffing, the real problem is a lack of meaningful accountability. After events, judges currently need to justify their scoring to the athletic commission, but this is more a rubber stamp than any real process. An effective system needs to be put in place to ensure that poor judging and reffing is brought to light and weeded out. Until that’s done these judges and refs will be free to do as they like.

by Meeaaat on Mar 29, 2009 7:27 PM EDT reply actions  

I think MMA needs more consistent judging, not just better judging. Granted, there have been improvements since I started watching in 2005, but it often seems top control and take downs get more credit from judges. It really sucks for a fighter to not know how his bout will be judged.

by Andy R on Mar 29, 2009 8:39 PM EDT reply actions  

Actually, fighters do know how their bout will be judged.

Most states use the MMAURC and not only do fighters know what the rules are for judging their techniques, but it’s covered by the head judge in a pre-fight Rules meeting: http://mmarefschool.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=69

by orlis on Mar 30, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions  

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