A view to a score

My view as a judge for MMA

So I had an opportunity to judge an amateur MMA event on the Friday night before the Hendricks vs GSP fight. The fights were okay and I was definitely a little nervous going in. I really wanted to make sure that I was judging fairly. I have a lifetime of experience with striking, and about about 6 years experience grappling, etc.. As the fights went on there was plenty of one sided fights and early stoppages so it was pretty easy and then there came a fight where both fighters were well trained. One of the fighters pushed the pace from beginning to end and landed strikes with reckless abandoned, the other fighter fought going backwards landing strikes out of desperation but none of which were enough to slow down his opponents forward momentum. At one point during the second round the fighters ended up on the ground the dominant fighter on top and looking for a submission, he locked the submission in but it was being defended well. The fighter on the bottom was able to sweep into top position but the dominant never let go of the submission and shortly after the bell rang. The dominant fighter continued his aggressive attack all the way through the third round. I had no doubt of the outcome as I handed the scorecard through the cage but as the announcer began to read "We have a split decision"... I was in shock, the dominant fighter went on to win but I was confused. I looked at the judge next to me and said "split decision?", he walked over to me and said "the other guy was on top in the second round". That's when it hit me, this kid knows his striking and watches fights, is a fighter, however he didn't know what was going on during the grappling portion of the fight. Now i've already done a blog on judging and I have had my own issues with judges with fights i've had, but now i've judged and it is in no way an easy job, but how do you do a job that you're not trained for?

GSP vs Hendricks scorecard

        And then UFC 167 happened. Everybody will have there own opinion on the fight but the overwhelming majority of people have voiced there disgust with the judging in that fight. The champ, George St. Pierre won and retained his title but looked as if he got run over by two trucks and three busses. There are whole slew of problems with the point system, some say with the rounds and time limits, but the reality is even if those things were fixed and the fight goes to the judges scorecards at this point you still just don't know what will happen. Like the guy that judged the fights along side me, the majority of the judges out there judging MMA fights just don't have the training. I don't believe it's relegated to just MMA we see it in boxing, and in some team sports which is why replay is becoming popular. Even the well trained ones get it wrong sometimes, but at least they're trained. I have plenty of experience teaching and competing and I still felt the pressure of judging, I can't imagine having to judge squarely a world title fight. It must be an assault on your senses. Now all that being said, there has to be a solution, furthermore there needs to be. When it affects whether a fighter is going to be paying his rent or couch surfing for the next three months while awaiting the next possible fight to pop up. Most of these guys aren't rich and a loss on their record in a fight they should have clearly won could possibly reshape their careers. Some for better and others for worse, but should that be left in the hands of someone who quite possibly has never taken a Jiu Jitsu or Muay Thai class or for that matter even stepped inside a gym? Sounds crazy but unfortunately it's true. Bad decisions and judging put a huge black mark on the sport of boxing and continues to do so and now it seems as if it's starting to seep into MMA judging. Hopefully this undereducated judges pool is held accountable for their actions and then maybe we'll see some proper scores on those cards. Until then every time it goes to the cards both fighters will grit their teeth and cross their fingers while the scores are read.

Some pads with Jorge

Felipe preparing for his December 7th fight.

Have a vision

         Hope all is well with each and every one of you. It's been an amazing year and as we come closer to the end of the year I want to touch on the subject of Vision. I'm talking about foresight and why it's so important. Going into the forthcoming year, we'll all start doing the usual goal setting for ourselves. But

are our goals empty promises? This isn't about setting a goal, this is about envisioning the goal as you undertake the process of reaching it. Setting a goal is not enough, you have to see it in your own mind. If you can't do this, accomplishing what you set out to do will be extremely difficult. You'll have a hard time convincing other people of what your going to do if you don't first believe it yourself. There is something to be said for imagination. Everything that has ever been made from human beings started first as a product of someone's imagination. In that same frame of mind, everything you want to achieve in life has to first start in between your ears.
          As far as sports go, it is often heard in interviews throughout the season,"our goal is to win a championship". These teams have their eyes on the prize as a collective unit. However, some extra ordinary players often have visions of  hitting game winning shots ie. Magic Johnson's hook shot in the 1987 NBA finals
to propel the Lakers over the Celtics. Magic has publicly stated that he had dreamed about beating the Celtics in this way and he believed it. You can still go out to the basketball court on any day and see and hear guys counting down and imagining hitting the buzzer beater game winning shot. There are many variables that have to fall into place in a team sport for the championship run to all work out. Unlike in the combat sports where a lot of the success one has starts from within. It does take a team of trainers etc, but the real idea of where a fighter wants to end up is solely based on his or her personal desires.

         At UFC 162 everybody got quite a shock when, who many people believe to be best fighter in the

world, Anderson Silva was knocked out by Chris Weidman. It was a surprise to everyone but Weidman and his coach, both of whom proclaimed victory long before the fight was to even happen. Chris Weidman had visualized beating Silva and even in the faces of the media and naysayers he stuck to his prediction and in the end, it worked out as he had envisioned it.
         Having a vision or spending time visualizing your goals is not some new concept to the world, but I doubt we do it enough. It is a great tool to prepare you for any goal being pursued and at least when it comes to getting kicked in the face or choked unconscious it's better to have as many tools as possible. So take some time before, and during your personal quests to see in your mind the future that you desire and then take those visions and run with them. The more you see it the closer it is to being accomplished!