Amadi's Take
AMADI: Scoring in MMA Begins to Turn the Corner at UFC 127
Feb 28, 2011 - 4:05:44 PM AMADI: Scoring in MMA Begins to Turn the Corner at UFC 127

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Draws in prizefighting are inconclusive, unsatisfying, and rouse the ire of combat sports fans everywhere; however, they still have their place and are completely appropriate. The fact that UFC main events have already produced two draws in 2011 might not be ideal, but it is a major step forward for MMA scoring as a whole.

Four of the last five UFC main events have gone to the judges' scorecards; three of those four fights have had heavily disputed outcomes, and two of those three fights have resulted in draws. The real problem in all three fights comes down to the scoring of one round.

When Quinton Jackson met Lyoto Machida at UFC 123, Jackson walked away the victor in a fight that he didn’t really win. Jackson was the more aggressive fighter in two rounds that produced almost no action and won each of those two rounds by simply pressing forward. However, in the third round Lyoto Machida turned it up and put on the best offense of the entire fight. Because each of the first two rounds was scored 10-9 for Jackson instead of 10-10 as they perhaps should have been, Jackson walked away with a decision victory, despite the fact that nothing he did during the bout was as significant as Machida's offense in the third round.

Frank Edgar's second title defense of the UFC Lightweight Title resulted in a draw, mostly because in the first round Gray Maynard knocked him silly to the point of Edgar demonstrating some Brock Lesnar-like break dancing in the cage. Each round after the first got closer and closer in terms of significant offense, but the first round was all Maynard. It was so one sided, that scoring the round 10-8 doesn't do Maynard’s domination justice. Edgar flipped and flopped around the cage, as Maynard beat him from pillar to post. Edgar offered up no significant offense during the round and was dropped by strikes repeatedly. Maynard demonstrated total domination in that round, which is actually the supposed criterion for a round to be scored 10-7 under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

Last Saturday night at UFC 127, Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn fought to a draw. The first round was a clear round for Penn. He scored a takedown, took Fitch's back and was close to finishing the fight; but Fitch was competitive with him the entire time and defended himself intelligently. The second round of the fight saw Fitch hit a takedown, Penn get up, score a takedown of his own, take Fitch's back again, but this time Fitch turned into Penn's guard and spent just over a minute battering Penn and landing the most significant strikes of the round. At worst, that round should have been a draw in favor of Jon Fitch. Penn scored a takedown, achieved dominant positions, was closer to finishing the fight in theory, but Fitch also scored a takedown, and did the most damage.

The third and final round of the UFC 127 main event is the round that made the difference, and in reality is the type of round that is seen all the time in mixed martial arts. Fitch dominated every second of the third round, scored three takedowns and landed 149 strikes on B.J. Penn while Penn himself landed two. Fitch completely dominated the third round, which is the supposed criterion for a round to be scored 10-8 under the Unified Rules of Mixed Mart Arts. According to the Fight Metric report, Jon Fitch not only won the fight but also tied the record for most strikes thrown in a single UFC round.

The judges' decision that the UFC 127 main event was a draw wasn't the right call, but it is an improvement from the result of the UFC 123 main event where the wrong man won. Judges are willing to score rounds 10-8 now more than ever, and a particularly naughty bunch are finally starting to squeak in a few 10-10 scores. Under the Unified Rules, judges have all the tools to make the right calls; they're simply reticent to use them.