Another judging debate at UFC 106: How often did Forrest Griffin actually land his punches

[Clark Kent]

11-22-2009 03:50 AM:

It was another frustrating mixed martial arts main event to score at UFC 106. Forrest Griffin got a split decision win over Tito Ortiz 29-28, 30-27 and 28-29. Ortiz scored more takedowns and did some solid damage on the ground, including opening a nice cut over Griffin's left eye. Griffin threw more shots throughout the fight and was really effective landing heavily in the final two minutes of the fight. Before that, how many headshots did he actually land?

A look at the photo gallery provided by Getty Images shows an awful lot of blocked shots. Getty uploaded 11 photos of Griffin throwing a kick or punch at Ortiz' head. Tito is shown blocking 10 of them. This is only a small sample but it certainly proves the fight is worth another look.

UFC president Dana White said the 30-27 for Griffin was ridiculous. Griffin asked Ortiz in the cage right after the fight if he had been his back too often to win the fight. Meanwhile over at Bloody Elbow, writer Mike Fagan suggested Glenn Trowbridge, the judge who scored it 29-28 for Ortiz, is incompetent:

Someone needs to take away Glenn Trowbridge's judging license. A card of 29-28 Ortiz is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I personally had the fight 30-26 Griffin, though I find 30-27 and 29-28 Griffin acceptable as well.

​

Fagan said he scored it 30-26 for Griffin.

This makes it three straight main events where fans walked away split on a definitive winner. UFC 104 featured a close win by Lyoto Machida over Mauricio Rua (48-47 on all cards) and at UFC 105 Randy Couture edged Brandon Vera (29-28 on all cards).



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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.

 

[Kempojujutsu]

I think they need to get rid of all those boxing farts and get people who know the MMA game both standing and grappling. Getting tried of some of these decisions made by lame judges.

 

[d1jinx]

I think the whole 10 point round is crap anyway. It comes down to what the judges think or remember the mos out of a 5 minute round. score it. points for takedowns and such... might get complicated, but a little more fair.

You pound a guy for 4 minutes and 58 seconds and at the end of the round he gets a lucky hit that floors you.... 10 8 them? comeon.

 

[Tez3]

There is a huge amount to consider when scoring an MMA bout. when you are judging you are looking at the fight in a cmpletely different way from when watching it as a spectator. It doesn't come down to what the judges remember at all, they should be critical of every move and also take notes.
The problem is that like all sports people who watch think they can also judge, that simply isn't so. You have consider aggression, defensiveness, strikes, responses, techniques and you do it second by second.

Here's some advice from Doc Hamilton on judging a fight from your armchair from Fighters Only Mag.
Step 1
Turn off the volume- avoid being swayed by the commentators and the crowd because they are very good at sensationalising anything.
Step 2
Take out a paper and pencil. Draw a line down the middle. On one half you put one fighters name. Draw two more lines, so you have three rounds. Watch the fight and take note of whats going on, based on the criteria. Realise it's a sliding scale, so, if they are standing 90% of the time, striking would be predominant.
Step 3
At the end of each round, put your score down on the paper then leave it. Once that bell rings my score should be immediately on the paper.
Sterp 4
See how you match up with the judges. If you are not in synch with htem, you have to start thinking about what they did that you didn't do. did you come in with a bias? Thats one things the judges cannot afford to do.

If you are judging you don't see the fight as 'enjoyable' or fun to watch anymore, you see it critically move by move. It's not easy but is very satisfying. Of course though if fighters aren't happy with the way it's scored they shouldn't have left it to the decision!

 

[K831]

Of course though if fighters aren't happy with the way it's scored they shouldn't have left it to the decision!

That really is key. Sometimes I am right in line with the judges when I try the above exercise, sometimes not.

Regardless, both fighters have a chance to finish the competition. If they don't, then they can't complain too much...