The relationship between a fan and a sports team or player is special, and fans often end up becoming emotionally invested in their favorite athletes. Even in MMA, fans don’t want to see their favorite fighter lose and when their favorite fighter loses because of bad officiating or a bad decision; this leaves fans enraged.
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Unfortunately, mixed martial arts over the years has seen a lot of bad officiating and bad decisions. This often caused serious backlash from fans.
Yamasaki, Mazzagatti and Winslow were all basically blacklisted from the sport. Why can the judges continually blow it up with seemingly no repercussions? https://t.co/ikNJoUTDWy
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) May 3, 2022
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Recently, an MMA writer by the name of Alex Behunin wrote about this issue in his tweet. In his tweet, Behunin said: “How come referees get banned from the sport of MMA while judges dogsh*t still have their jobs?
He further added, “so @MMAdamMartin for bringing up this great point today on his podcast.
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To this tweet, podcast host Adam Martin responded by saying: “Yamasaki, Mazzagatti and Winslow were all basically blacklisted from the sport. Why can the judges continually blow it up with seemingly no repercussions? »
The point Behunin and Martin were discussing was how referees and judges seem to suffer different fates for their mistakes.
MMA fans around the world reacted to the post as follows:
Not defending the judges because I agree they should be held accountable, but Yamasaki was putting people’s lives at risk.
— PDA1031 (@Pander952) May 3, 2022
Because judging boxing is a lot like judging MMA in that it’s more about guys also donating to political campaigns and keeping good people happy. I bet if you checked, a lot of these judges donate to both local parties and know who to appease.
– LastCallRadioShow (@LastCallRadioS1) May 3, 2022
Because they are government employees. The government at all levels is blowing it up without any repercussions.
— DG Habs (@DBGHabs) May 3, 2022
A look at some bad judge decisions in MMA
The term “Never leave that to the judges” is often used by MMA fans. A lot of people think that due to poor decisions made by the judges, coaches often prefer their fighters to finish the fight rather than go the full distance.
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There have been a lot of controversial decisions in the UFC. When Michael Bisping fought Mat Hamill, Hamill dominated the first two rounds, winning numerous takedowns. In the third round, Bisping seemed to get the better of Hamill, but the “earl” didn’t land anything significant that would win him the fight. When the decision came out, the judges declared Bisping the winner by split decision. This decision did not sit well with the fans and people blamed the judges for the same.
There have been several similar instances where fans believed the judges made the wrong decision. Although many have made suggestions, such as live scoring, it will be interesting to see what steps are taken to resolve this issue.
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Let us know your thoughts on the state of judging in MMA.