- Longtime UFC referee Herb Dean weighed in on the controversial 10-8 score at Noche UFC
- Dean suggests that the recent agreement between the judges about scoring close fights may have something to do with it
Veteran UFC referee Herb Dean enlightened the fans about what could’ve possibly caused judge Mike Bell to come up with a 10-8 scorecard that resulted in a controversial split draw in Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko II.
It was based on an Agreement
It has been more than a week since the split draw of Noche UFC’s main event caused a stir in the MMA world but some are still buzzing about it. Recently, Herb Dean lifted the lid on the criteria of the 10-8 scoring and revealed that Bell possibly gave that score in the final round of Grasso vs. Shevchenko II as a way of following what judges have agreed on about their scoring methods.
According to Dean, a 10-8 is given if a fight comes close to being stopped. However, if that’s not the case, a 10-8 could still be given because they figured that they need to have “some difference” in close fights, meaning the judges are encouraged to score a 10-8 to avoid always coming up with identical scores one-point final scorecards.
“Well, a 10-8 round, it’s really difficult for one thing with a 10-8 round, you know, they want to make sure you know there’s going to have to be some effect and someone having it one way,” Dean began. “Another way of seeing it is where you see a fight could be potentially stopped, a potentially fight ending situation. That’s another thing that can make a judge think 10-8 but the thing about it is, we used to give them out very rarely but we’ve moved and started giving out more 10-8s because, I mean, what’s the most common score in this sport? The most common score is a 29-28.”
“We asked the commission to look at all the fights that have done to the scorecards, the most common score is 29-28 and that means we have a one point game so we have to have some difference there with these close fights,” he continued.
NSAC is on top of it
The result of Grasso vs. Shevchenko II has not been overturned but there is a possibility that a change could happen as NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) is reportedly taking some steps in addressing the issue.
As it stands, the split draw saw Grasso retaining her UFC women’s flyweight title despite not technically winning. Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White has already confirmed that they will be working on a trilogy fight.
Check out the full interview below:
