Mixed Martial Arts Forum banner

Judges make mistakes in Weidman/Maia + Sonnen/Bisping

3K views 27 replies 20 participants last post by  cdtcpl 
#1 ·
It seems that the judges at UFC on Fox 2 made mistakes on two separate occasions last night, and both where on the main card section.

According to the Wrestling Observer at www.f4wonline.com the judges made mistakes in both the Maia/Weidman and Sonnen/Bisping fights.

Judge Patrick Morley was announced by Bruce Buffer as scoring the first fight on the main card 29-28 to Demian Maia, when in fact he actually scored it 30-27 for Chris Weidman. This changes the overall result to a unanimous decision and not a split decision.

That’s not all.

In the Chael Sonnen versus Michael Bisping fight, it was announced that Clay Goodman scored the bout 30-27 for Sonnen, when in fact he scored it in favour of Bisping, changing the overall result to a split decision to Chael Sonnen and not a unanimous decision.

Whilst the mistakes weren’t so huge to change the result on who actually won the fight, it does show the incompetence that is running wild in some MMA officials.

The 30-27 result makes no sense, even if it was scored for either fighter as Sonnen definitely won the third round and Bisping the second.

The Fight Lounge scored the bout 29-28 to Michael Bisping but can also see why people think that Sonnen rightfully won.

By Mike Clarke

Check out www.osakafightgear.com for top MMA brands
http://www.thefightlounge.co.uk/judges-make-mistakes-at-ufc-on-fox-2/#more-13490
 
#4 · (Edited)
I had rounds 1 and 2 for Bisping and 3rd for Chael but I'm not surprised by the result.

Reality is that it was a close fight.

My problem is that I think that the criteria for judging a fight needs to change. Octagon control and having a dominant position in the first two rounds that Chael had really meant nothing to me. Bisping clearly did more damage in the fight and he was able to get to his feet multiple times without sustaining any damage and at the same time dolling it out.

In the third round Chael used his wrestling more effectively and landed many shots, but none of them were devastating. That being said Bisping was unable to stop him and didn't do any damage in return.

I had this fight as Bisping winning, and at the very least a draw, but that is based on my criteria for scoring a fight which is much different then those outlined for the judges to follow.

Judges have a tough job and are going to be criticized no matter what, but I think the criteria for scoring fights should be based more on potential fight ending moves and damage a fighter deals out than dominant position and octagon control.
 
#10 ·
Mike had a cut yes in round three. Bisping was hitting him with way more combos in 1 and 2. Go watch the post fight presser when your boy himself says that Bisping hit him harder than he's ever been hit and that he could have seen the fight go the other way.
 
#13 ·
I suggest you watch all of Sonnen's post fighter pressers... 'my boy' claims every fighter he faces has hit him as hard as he's ever been hit. That doesn't change the fact, however, that Sonnen's face was no worse for wear than Bisping's, and that Bisping didn't rock Chael... Chael rocked Bisping. That is damage my friend.
 
#7 ·
* Since this article went out, The Wrestling Observer have since stated that they have made a mistake and Bisping wasn’t awarded the 30-27 decision by one judge. It did indeed go to Chael Sonnen. The Wrestling Observer are normally on the money so we had no reason not to believe them.
 
#8 ·
The fight was a 29-28 for sure.
It can be made a case for both fighters to have won the 1st round.
I have the 1st round going to Sonnen (thus winning the fight),
just because of the way fights are being judged.
In terms of real fighting damage/effectiveness i would give it Bisping, but as Dana says, it is what it is...

Any way, what a mess by the officials. :confused05:
 
#11 ·
This.^ Octagon control and dominant position always seemed to be favored over real damage.

Real damage fight: Bisping 1 (it was close)
Bisping 2
Chael 3 (overwhemingly)

Judging criteria for fights is the real issue at hand here.
 
#9 ·
2 fights that were really really hard to score, Maia/Weidman every round could have gone either way. Bisping/Sonnen, Chael definitely won the fight as a whole, but as we all know this doesn't mean jack shit, the first and second, again, could have gone either way. I have no problem with the decisions and would say the same if the results were reversed.
 
#12 ·
This thread just made my day, thank you for the article. That's exactly how it should've been, and the judges need to get a ******* reality check. They're getting paid to watch a ******* fight and say who won each round, it's not hard, do your job right or get fired, simple as that.
 
#14 ·
30-27 for Chael was way off the mark, but 29-28 seems the right call...

I wouldn't call either fight a "robbery" like some people seem to be doing... Bisping vs Chael was a close fight and could have been a split decision or even a draw... But not a robbery by any means
 
#15 ·
So how do you explain him saying that he thought the fight could have gone Bisping's way without him being surprised?
 
#16 ·
Just about everyone believes that already:confused02:

Only the most loyal fans are claiming a definite victory for their favorite fighter. It was a close fight and if you asked Bisping if he thought Chael had won before the announcement I bet he'd say the same thing.
 
#27 ·
I can see either side of the Bisping Sonnen argument. After rewatching the fight 3 times I can say it could have gone either way, but Sonnen got the nod because of the takedowns and punches on the ground.

Bisping found a position that he could keep Chael in and he kept going back to it, but he didn't do much when he was in that position. On the feet Chael looked wild and Bisping looked sharper, but they both were able hit each other around the same amount of times.

No matter who it went to, it wouldn't have been a robbery. It could have gone either way and a split decision for Sonnen sounds about right to me, although this is about as close as they come.
 
#28 ·
After rewatching the fight I think people are underestimating how much the TD's helped Sonnen. Not in the fact that he just got a TD, but the first few TD's he lands while Bisping is in the sitting position Sonnen starts throwing punches. So it wasn't a TD that produced nothing, it was a TD with strikes that may have counted more in the judges eyes.

Still upon rewatch I only had 1 round with a clear winner and say that this fight is pretty much the perfect candidate for the saying, "Don't let a fight go into the judges hands".
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top