As a general rule I assume people are happier when I’m not talking versus when I’m ranting/raving. Apparently even this rule has exceptions because I’ve received e-mails lately asking where the next rant is. When I inquired as to what people wanted me to rant about specifically I got a couple requests for “whatever”. That is a very dangerous request, but one that I shall honor none the less. What follows is several minutes of freestyle ranting about whatever pops into my head from sentence to sentence.
You’ve been warned…
Start at the end(ish)
I fucking hate MMA scoring. (Someone said I needed to work on my “topic sentences”…how’s that?!) Seriously, it’s a flat chest on an otherwise hot chick. All this awesome and one feature that will consistently piss me off and detract from how great everything else is. The current “landscape” of MMA scoring and other “officiating” parts is just insulting. It is insulting to fans, it is insulting to the competitors, and is a hindrance to MMA’s more widespread acceptance.
Judging
I’m sick of bad judging. Let me be clear here, by “bad” judging I don’t mean the judges’ decision cost me my parlay. “bad” judging is all three judges scoring a fight 30-27 and it being a split decision. I don’t care who you wanted to win, that’s a travesty. Bad judging is watching a fight with limited striking and no real submission attempts, seeing a fighter get taken down twice in the first and third, but managing to take their opponent down twice in the second and having one judge say all three rounds went to the other fighter.
It seems as though many don’t even realize how much bad judging there actually is. For some it is enough that, “the right fighter won”. Screw that, these are *PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES*. If Albert Pujols started most of his at bats 0-1 because of bad officiating (strikes called), but still hit .330 that does *NOT* make it OK. In the same vein it’s not OK for the “right” fighter to win with scorecards showing split decisions and 29-28’s for obvious ass-kickings.
Undoubtedly a big part of the problem with the judging is the actual scoring system used. The vague “Striking, grappling, control, beachwear” scoring system is a joke. There is far too much room for open interpretation.
The NFL season is underway and I can tell you that I’ll be right on 95%+ calls this season. I know the rules, I’ve watched a lot of games, etc. Understand that by “be right” I don’t mean that what I want to happen will. There are some rules I hate and wish were changed. You know what though? They aren’t changed, they do exist and they are enforced pretty consistently. If your team loses the superbowl because replay shows the receiver clearly stepped out of bounds, then you know they stepped out and the touchdown with 0:00 left doesn’t count. You can be hurt, you can be sad, you can curse other things, but you *KNOW* they were out of bounds and the touchdown shouldn’t have counted.
Even better, when a “bad call” is made, it’s very easy to see. If replay shows it was a bad call then everyone knows it was a bad call, there is clear proof of the bad call and everyone can act accordingly. In MMA it is almost impossible to even point out “bad calls” and once they are spotted there is still almost nothing to be done.
That level of consistency/accountability/understanding is what is missing from MMA currently. At this point in time I’ve honestly seen more MMA than many countries and even now there are times where I hedge my “guess” based upon the names of the refs/judges. Not upon what the rules say, but based upon previous silliness I’ve witnessed. It is one thing for NBA refs to put their whistles in their pocket during a playoff game. It’s quite another for one ump to have a 9 square foot strike zone.
Fixes?
I actually had a list of specific suggestions, but I don’t think we are there yet. There’s no doubt a lot of ways to “fix” what’s wrong, but I think first we need some agreement on what needs to be fixed. I’m not so much concerned with the solution at this point as I am with the intention of future changes. Here’s what I’d like future changes to provide:
- Reliability/consistency
- Accountability and potential for review/evaluation
- Encouragement and respect for the athletes competing
Does that seem too outlandish?
A champion, a gatekeeper and a can walk into a bar…
Anyone else notice how some people talk as though there are only 3 types of fighters in the world? Reminds me of my boy nate who puts all women into one of two categories:
1) Those he’d sleep with
2) Those he’d sleep with while drunk
I think part of this comes from the old “top 10″ ranking mentality. There was a time when you were either “top 10″ or “not top 10″. I know that’s what some are used to, but we really *REALLY* need to get past that. *breaks open an Evil Pooh fortune cookie that reads* At some point you have to step away from the bad way things have been and towards the better way things can be.
There are so many fighters competing these days across numerous countries, across numerous promotions. The thought that only 10 matter (or even 25 or 150) is insulting. People need to start understanding just how many amazing athletes compete in this sport and how closely “ranked” many of them are.
By “ranked” I just mean the different tiers of fighters in MMA. There are a lot more levels in my opinion than: Guy with belt, guys who might get belt, guys who will likely never get belt. Take a look at the site stats sometime and look at the breakdown in fighter ratings. Even if you don’t agree with them specifically I would hope you can recognize how much better the rating is than a blind “ranking”.
How people can watch a sport like MMA and honestly believe “these 10″ (or 25 or whatever) are just categorically better than everyone else is completely beyond me. There’s no doubt that at times certain fighters rise above all others and establish their legacy, but what about the rest? What about the guys that hop in and out of the top 10, or the once “top 5″ guys that have slipped a bit. Not enough to retire, but enough to not be in that upper echelon anymore.
Can’t people see the value in recognizing a fighter is “1800″ or “broke 2250″ or whatever number versus “he’s definitely a ‘contender’” or “dude is a can, so what if he’s 9-1 he’s a total can smashing canny can can!!!”. One of the real limitations of MMA is that the fighters don’t get to fight a lot. It’s unlikely everyone will fight everyone and even when they do, fighters change, bad fights happen, bad decisions happen!, etc.
One of the things I’d really like to see in the near future (wanted to see in the past, but it obviously didn’t happen) is for more fans to recognize more fighters. There are a *LOT* of talented, skilled, dedicated, athletes out there working hard to entertain you. Just because a fighter hasn’t been given the superstar hype treatment or had that “breakout” fight doesn’t mean they are a nobody.
Some people honestly think Lyoto Machida instantly got “great” around the time of the Rashad fight. He’s been insane for years and most didn’t notice, or care or give him the forum to show it. The fact that some people think he went from “not top 10″ to “#1″ is just silly.
For some reason many seem to focus on what someone hasn’t done. “they haven’t beaten X”, “they don’t have a belt”, etc. Lots also like to focus on what “might” happen. “omfgzorz X >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Y”. I know I’m a (understatement incoming) little weird, but I like to focus on what actually happened. If a fighter was given a fight and they won it, I think *THAT* should actually matter. For some reason though many tend to ignore that and focus on other things. *shrugs*
When will I see you again?
This Tuesday I plan to finally release a Brock Lesnar rant I’ve been holding back for awhile. It’s nothing major, and is definitely poorly written, but I really think some of it needs to be said. Depending on how much hate mail I get for that I’ll probably put another rant up Thursday. If there’s anything specific you’d like to get the Evil perspective on, please let me know. That way we can avoid more rants like this one in the future. 8)
Tags: judging, lyoto machida, mma top 10 rankings