Should Mixed Martial Arts Apply Open Scoring? Whether judges’ round-by-round cards should be made available in real time during fights is an idea that has long been debated and applied in some places, notably Invicta FC cards in Kansas.
However, for UFC President Dana White, the downsides outweigh the perceived benefits.
The way White sees it, there are few moments in the sport as dramatic as reading the scores after a close fight – especially after a championship fight. And if the fans knew the scores while the fight was going on, it would rob them of the drama of the big call.
“When we do the fights I have an idea of who I think is won or lost or whatever, but when I’m standing there with the belt, I don’t know what Bruce Buffer is going to say,” White said during an online chat with ESPN + subscribers Tue done with Invicta color commentator Laura Sanko. ‘He doesn’t tell me anything. The judges tell him, the committee is doing their thing, they tell him and I’m there waiting to hear it too, so I’m just as blown away as the fans. And I agree with you, it completely takes away from expectation of who won the fight. “
White also sees another reason why fighters shouldn’t know the score during a fight – he believes it’s too easy for a competitor who knows he played two rounds in a threesome to go cruise control in the final round, which is what makes for a boring time.
“If a guy knows he’s played two rounds and you’re a professional fighter, then you can absolutely stay away from a guy for an entire round and make the fight completely horrible,” said White. If you already know you’ve got two rounds in the bag, guarantee that if you’ve seen your score above that, I’ll just have to stay away from this guy for the next five minutes. That makes for a lot of bad third rounds. “
Whether or not it is open scoring of catches is not in the hands of White as this is a committee issue. But at the end of the day, the UFC boss believes that no matter what system there is, there will always be flaws.
“It will never be perfect,” he said. “There will always be fights that will absolutely drive you crazy and piss you off, blow your bets, there will always be all those other things that come with the fighting business. At the end of the day, it’s fun to watch the fight and waiting for the results. “