Thank God for Abe Belardo

Now that the UFC 59 dust has settled the lips are loosening as it relates to Tito Ortiz' somewhat controversial decision victory over Forrest Griffin. Most notably, mma fans and arm-chair judges everywhere are furious with Abe Belardo scoring the second round 10-9 Ortiz thus giving Tito a 30-27 total for the fight. No one should try to defend Abe for this abysmal error. Further, no one should look to the UFC for an explaination as to how this could happen. The fact is, the UFC has no control over the judging of the fights. It is the California State Athletic Commision that decided that Abe would be a judge for the event. Thank God they did.

Recently, Dana White himself indicated that that he was shocked by Abe's decision. He indicated that he scored Forrest the winner and Lorenzo Fertitta scored the fight a draw with Tito earning a 10-8 first round. Personally, I had Forrest winning the fight but respected the decision by two of the three judges especially after Griffin himself said in his post fight comments that he had no problem with the decision. What's always interesting with these situations is to see what is said days later after everyone has had time to seriously think about the ramifications. Forrest has since changed his thoughts on the fight after seeing it again. He also expressed deep dissapointment with Tito's comments both immediately after the fight and in an interview the next day where he claimed Forrest's legs were oiled up to help slip out of takedowns. Classy, Tito, very classy.

So, hardcore mma fans have been screaming for years that there needs to be some sort of consistency in the way mma fights are judged and finally, Abe Belardo has helped bring this issue to the forefront. I just hope that a few key elements are considered when the time comes to establish judging criteria. First, submission attempts have to be factored in as part of an overall aggressiveness rating. Especially when a fighter is on his back. Armbar and triangle attempts are, after all, an attempt to end the fight. When a fighter has to scramble to escape a submission attempt, it's the equivalent of eating punches and having to clinch to stop the onslaught. Secondly, takedowns are important and should score points but if a fighter is able to get up from a takedown, it should be scored equally. This is the way all grappling matches are scored as escaping the bottom requires just as much skill as a takedown, if not more. Lastly, low kicks can do a tremendous amount of damages and should be credited equal to a punch. These are the jabs of the kicking game and can drastically change the game plan of the fighter on the receiving end.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has a tremendous opportunity to jump on this issue first and bring California in to establish some unified rules. MMA is growing at a frantic pace and the longer these types of miserable judging scenarios are allowed to continue, the longer it will take for people to give the sport the attention it deserves. Just remember, when we finally have a unified set of judging criteria we'll have Abe Belardo to thank for it.

Will