Doggy Bag: A Foil for the Prodigy

D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

First, I am in favor of the half-point system for judging in MMA. But, in the case of a very close fight, such as Evans-Silva at UFC 108, the judges should have the jurisdiction to declare the bout a draw up to that point and have the fighters fight an extra round. Perhaps only a three-minute round, to reach closure. Let’s say this was an option in the Evans-Silva fight. The judges would have likely scored the third round 10-8 for Silva, where the fight would be ruled a draw and they would fight an overtime round. This opens up the possibility for more finishes and decisive victories, which are lacking today. Instead of making five-round non-title fights, add an extra round only to fights that are extremely close.
-- Jordan Kelleher

While I too agree that a half-point system could benefit the sport of mixed martial arts, I am not a fan of an overtime system. I also have to take umbrage with your insinuation that judges should score a fight a certain way to ensure there is a decisive final round.

The score of a round is the score of a round, no matter what other factors are going through the observers’ head. If a judge is altering the way he tabulates the score he is doing a disservice to the fighters and the sport in general. It is akin to referees in other sports swallowing their whistles in the final moments of games. If a penalty or foul occurs, or if a punch or submission attempt is noted, it should be called or scored.

Another issue you raised was the possibility of a draw. I have never seen the big problem with fights being scored even. I know of only one occasion -- B.J. Penn being robbed against Caol Uno -- where a draw has had a truly negative consequence. That fight effectively hibernated the lightweight division, but I say chalk that up to shoddy judging.

In the end, if the powers that be cannot see the benefit of five-round non-title fights, then I think a half-point system could alleviate some of the problems in judging three-round fights. The example I always use is the first Penn-Georges St. Pierre fight.

Say you are a judge and you are not really sure if the first round beating GSP took warranted a 10-8 round, perhaps a 10-8Â½ might do it for you. Then with Penn tiring, GSP easily banked rounds two and three on the strength of takedowns and little else. Instead of 10-9 rounds you give him 10-9Â½ in both frames. The final tally comes out to 29-28Â½ in favor of Penn.

I think that makes a whole lot more sense than an overtime round.