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COLUMN: 2010 Wish List - Suggestions for changes that are in order for the sport of MMA
Jan 7, 2010 - 3:14:38 PM COLUMN: 2010 Wish List - Suggestions for changes that are in order for the sport of MMA

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By Laramey Leet, MMATorch Columnist

With 2010 under way and MMA becoming more and more popular every day, it's time for a change! MMA is growing each year and will continue to do so. With the fan base and athletes increasing in size, the sport needs to evolve as well. In the midst of all the growing numbers, the sport needs a change. I am not talking about drastic changes, but necessary changes to prolong and move the sport forward.

MMA, as a sport, needs to work on rules, judges, cross promotions. (Top ten fighters should fight top ten fighters. For example: Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields, and Fedor Emelianenko. These fighters do not fight anyone near their potential.), America needs one or two more MMA leagues to obtain television deals (we basically need minor leagues of mixed martial artist), and last but not least we need to have an MMA-based show broadcast on a big sports network (ESPN). Yes, I do know that Inside MMA comes on HDNET, but to be put on a big and popular network would introduce more people to the fast rising sport.

I believe the issue that needs to be addressed first is judging and refereeing. MMA needs a panel of judges who know the sport from top to bottom. I am tired of seeing a wrestler lay on top of their opponent and getting the victory. Judges need to know the ground game and how it works. They need to realize that just because a fighter is on his back does not mean that he is in trouble (Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller is a great example).

Judges should have an overwhelming knowledge of the sport. Too many fights go to the judges and are ruined (Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua). Unfortunately, it is not just the ground game; it is the cage usage as well. Randy Couture is infamous for his cage usage and judges need to know how to score that (Couture is known for pushing or pulling into the cage and holding his opponent while he lands body shots and uppercuts (i.e. Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74). With so many styles of fighting put inside of a ring or cage, these judges must be on top of their game.

I have looked at all the different types of point systems of judging a MMA event; none of them are 100 percent flawless. I think the best system we can use is the 10 point system that is used today. My only alteration to the system would be that judges need to score the fight correctly! Yeah, I know that is kind of broad, but in Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz II, Tito was a human punching bag the entire third round, so that round should have been scored 10-8 Forrest; maybe even a 10-7. (I know that might be a bit harsh but I am being honest, it was horrible).

Now for the referees, this seems to be one of Dana Whites favorite conversations. There are great refs and there are complete morons! I will not go into names, but fans know who they want to ref a match and who they do not. I like the fact that Nevada is now using an instant replay system. It would have been great to catch Josh Koscheck when he supposedly took an illegal knee from Anthony Johnson at UFC 106. Koscheck was holding his head after his forearm caught the impact of the knee, but nevertheless I am glad that they are using it. Now we need to get every state to use the instant replay as well.

Within the past year the UFC has hired a very experienced business man, to talk to the state commissions. The plan is to inform them of the changes needed to be made in these departments. With the development of more knowledgeable judges and referees, the sport will grow beyond measure.

With the sport progressing and moving forward so will the rules. I believe that all MMA organizations should have the same rules. For example, in UFC a fighter can strike with elbows on the ground, but in Strikeforce a fighter cannot strike with elbows. This makes it a bit confusing for newcomers who are getting interested in MMA.

Same thing goes for Japan with their leagues; DREAM and Sengoku Raiden Championship. In Japan you can kick your opponent if you are both on the ground, in both UFC and Strikeforce you cannot kick when grounded. All of these organizations differ in rules. If MMA wants to progress further, all of the organizations need to follow the same set of rules to help fighters and fans.

For example, let us look at the Olympics; it is people from all over the world competing in a sport because they all have the same rules. These people may not be able to speak the same language, but they can compete equally because they know the sport and know how to play it. Judging and refereeing goes in the same. In order to push the sport to the next level all organizations need to be on the same page.

Now we get into the cross-promotion which basically breaks down into business. Most of us know that the sport is making a lot of money - and money talks. The only thing that stops cross-promotion from happening is money. UFC will not allow cross-promotions because of a deal that went bad between them and the late Pride organization. (Basically, UFC sent fighters over to Pride to fight, but Pride never returned the favor.)

With the sport evolving we either must have cross-promotions or all of the best fighters have to be in one organization. At this point in time it does sound impossible. This is one of those things that might never happen, but this will be the only way that a fighter will know that he is truly the best in the world at his division. Some fighters do not fight the best and are still considered among the top in their division.

I absolutely believe that in order to be confirmed as the best, you have to fight the best! And there are plenty of top ranked fighters who do not fight the best in their division (No need to name drop; I am sure you get the picture). The UFC does push to have all the best fighters, but have lost contracts and have not signed contracts due to cross-promotion. Masses of amazing fighters are fighting in Japan and are unknown to a great number of people in the U.S. because of cross-promotion.

It seems as if UFC is the only organization that does not have their hand in the cross-promotion cookie jar. Strikeforce, DREAM, and Sengoku Raiden Championships all cross-promote and have open contracts with their fighters so the fighters can fight in different leagues. The UFC, on the other hand, does NO cross promotion and will only let a select few fight outside of their cage while under contract. So maybe this is wishful thinking, but it needs to happen to endorse MMA's future.

Since MMA is growing in every way, shape, and form, fighters are coming from everywhere and they all want to make it to the big show (UFC). We almost need more leagues and organizations that can be a so-called minor league to the UFC and Strikeforce. NFL has college football, NBA has college as well as the D-League, and MLB has the minor leagues. MMA needs to do the same! Now do not take me the wrong way. There is somewhat of a minor league in MMA. There are small shows that go around the U.S. and help fighters become better known and give them experience.

Strikeforce even has a Challenger series. I guess you can even say that the UFC has The Ultimate Fighter. But what MMA needs is another promotion that can obtain a television deal. MMA needs a third or maybe even a fourth organization. UFC and WEC are both Zuffa companies and they have most of the best fighters in the world. Strikeforce has been on the rise since EliteXC and Affliction bit the dust; now all we need is a couple more organizations to take it to the next level.

They do not need to challenge Strikeforce and UFC, but work with them to get these fighters where they need to be. These organizations could even put a show on television once a month to help with the growing of the sport. If all this would follow through you could possibly be seeing two to three events a month, which does nothing but help the sport.

Now my final wish for MMA fully emerging is that we have a MMA show on ESPN. Not a radio show, but an MMA show. Inside MMA is a great show to watch. One problem is that UFC does not allow them to air any of their videos, so it makes it hard for them to talk about up and coming or past events. The next problem is not everybody gets HDNET. If you do not get HDNET and you are an MMA fan, I would try to get the channel. It hosts a lot of free MMA fights on the channel.

If MMA were able to score a show on ESPN, that would speak numbers to our sport. There are always new fighters, injuries, fights being added to cards, etc... With this show, you can push MMA events and talk about the fighters. I would like to see them have an accurate top ten list that is not biased towards any fighters.

I know a lot of these things that need to happen may never happen, but if they do, MMA will cast a shadow on all other sports. MMA is growing and is here to stay. Hopefully some of these aspects will be solved within the next couple of years and we can all continue to watch this sport grow.

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This is Laramey Leet debut column for MMATorch. He will write a weekly column going forward.

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[Dana White/Jon Fitch photo credit Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]