This past weekend, Ross Pearson and Diego Sanchez engaged in an entertaining fight that saw Sanchez convince the judges and few others that he won the fight. Most observers and members of the media in attendance had the fight going Pearson’s way. Anyone betting Pearson had to feel like they were on the receiving end of the shaft, as their must have been a good bit of Pearson confidence before the ref raised Sanchez’ hand.
Now, there has been a lot of outcry over MMA judging, and UFC President Dana White has been vocal about its effects on fights throughout his ten years with the UFC. Here they are in New Mexico, which happens to be Sanchez’ hometown. But that isn’t the biggest factor. There is a robust MMA scene in New Mexico and the southwest in general, but are the commissions and infrastructures there really enough to andle a show like the UFC? Make no mistake about it, a big show comes to town, it goes to the senior refs and judges at the commission level. Were these boxing judges? Or were the judges selected there from among the MMA community that is building up? Watching a lot of MMA and being tied to a scene does not make for a judge, as it takes more than seeing fights and it takes a neutrality that is sometimes hard to find in a tight knit scene.
The point is bettors, beware when making bets, as the judges will continue to be a huge factor in MMA for the forseeable future. What is going to happen if the UFC does eventually get approved in NYC? The NY commission is extremely boxing centric, and the sport is illegal there, so they even lack the exposure to the sport that comes with commissioning the grassroots. Are they going to bring in judges, or is big, bad NYC that still bans the sport going to insist they select all the judges?
Vegas, the judges are known, certain areas of Canada, the judges will be known, though even those locations are susceptible to poor judging. It may be time bettors start asking the question, and it may be worth looking at when the UFC is in new territory and breaking in new judges in the area.
