N.S.A.C. Approves Monitors For Judges

Added on May 20, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Every time there is a bad decision in mixed martial arts every arm chair analyst comes up with a “way to change the sport for the better.” Some say that the scoring system to be changed to a ½ point system. Some say the answer is to judge the fight at the end of the bout like the Japanese. For a long time a popular solution has been the judges should have monitors. This has always been the first thing I thought that should be changed because it was the least invasive to the sport as a whole.

Today the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to give the judges cage side monitors. This is a big change for the commission, as in the past they have threatened to rip any monitors out that may or may not show up cage side. However, with the help from the UFC, they have now seen the light on the positive effects of having them cage side.

They will work like this. There will be a monitor on a arm in front of the judge that will have the same feed as the venue screens the audience gets to see. If the judge wants to push the screen aside, they will have that option. The screens will have no audio, or any closed captioning at all. In between rounds the monitors will go black, and they will come back on when the next round begins. Obviously the idea being, if the action is on the other side of the cage from the judge, they will have a better look at whats going on in the fight.

I have never sat on the fence at a UFC event, but I have sat next to judges dozens of times in my tenure covering MMA. Even in a smaller cage then the Octagon, when the fight is on the ground on the other side of the cage, it can be pretty difficult to see whats going on. I watch 1000+ fights, and thats not including all the jiu jitsu film I watch, and even I find it hard to see when a fighter is scrambling for a choke or an arm bar. I can’t imagine trying to score a fight without the knowledge of all the bouts I have watched and scored.

This is a big first step for Mixed Martial Arts, but it is not the solution to all of our judging woes. There is a big education gap that needs to be filled. A judge who can’t identify a submission attempt will not be able to even if you give them a 75 inch screen. However, I think this is a step that won’t effect the fighting directly. Meaning, we aren’t changing the scoring or anything like that. I am not saying this will be a change that is guaranteed to make the sport better, but I think its important to find out if it could effect the sport positively.