Kansas Supplies Open Scoring in Wake of UFC 247’s Bad Judging
Bad judging in MMA sucks. It’s equivalent to a burglar breaking into a vehicle to steal a bag of chips that they saw lying in the driver’s seat. Of course, it makes people angry. And, it’s ridiculous that it would ever happen. However, the longer they have to digest the situation, the angrier they get at the idea of knowing that this could happen over and over again without a solution. At UFC 247, the judging was awful throughout the night. And, the entire mixed martial arts community noticed. Not only did the MMA fans notice, but so did the commission in Kansas, who has offered to save the day with an open scoring system.
Scoring in MMA
There are many flaws with the way MMA fights are scored. Firstly, the rules of the sport aren’t unified. Which means, different locations go by different rules. In some states, a “grounded” fighter has 1 hand on the ground. In others, both hands are required to be considered grounded.
Another aspect of the sport is the fact that the judging system is closed. This means that the scores of the judges aren’t revealed until the end of the fight. Furthermore, in most cases, judges usually never answer the logic behind their decisions.
The state of Kansas is here to change that. Especially after the events that took place at UFC 247. Kansas boxing commissioner Adam Roorbach spoke with ESPN. During the conversation, he said that the state would experiment with open scoring. This means that scores will be displayed live in real-time as a round ends.
Invicta FC to Apply Open Scoring
Invicta FC is one of the most forward-thinking MMA organizations in the world with Shannon Knapp at the helm. They will be the first to incorporate open scoring at Invicta FC: Phoenix Series 3.
“If we can help in some way to push the sport forward in a positive direction, that’s what we’re about – we’ll try,” said Knapp.
In regards to open scoring in MMA, is it a good idea? And, does it solve the issues that fans are complaining about? Let us know in the comments.
