More athletic commission transparency in MMA is one key to improving the sport

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In the mixed martial arts world, there has been an undeniable gap between those who regulate and officiate the sport and those who consume it and even coach and compete in it with judges and referees being the subject of public ire.

One major reason is the lack of transparency, particularly when it comes to refereeing and judging, the two most visible roles delegated by commissions for the events.

The California State Athletic Commission under executive director Andy Foster have been working to change that.

Foster, who has long been considered one of the most forward-thinking and innovative commission leads, has done his part to infuse some transparency into the officiating side of the sport by regularly holding virtual commission meetings and inviting media members to attend and cover them.

Additionally, Foster has also recently extended the invitation for interested media members to attend the in-person commission debriefs that are held immediately following the events themselves. In these meetings, the commission director will recap the event and ask officials questions regarding any inconsistencies in scorecards or key refereeing moments that occurred.

With UFC 311 being held in Inglewood, Calif., I reached out to Foster requesting to attend the debrief and was welcomed with open arms.

For some background, I have always been fascinated by the officiating side of the sport, especially since I attempt to score completed rounds on social media during the events.

Several years ago, based on what I now acknowledge was a limited knowledge of how fights were scored, I posted on social media that I had Israel Adesanya ahead of Jan Blachowicz 30-27 following the third round of their championship fight, which, at the conclusion, a large majority of people felt Blachowicz had won. I had been chastised for my scorecard (including a public reprimand from Justin Gaethje), at which point, I took the steps to become properly educated on the process of how officials scored rounds.

I had started private dialogue with some judges, all of whom were happy to help show me the ropes, purchased Marc Goddard’s online courses and, eventually, embarked on the most educational part of my journey, which was attending the 2022 Association of Boxing Commissions annual conference in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where I completed both the refereeing and judging courses.

When I entered the room designated to the state commission following UFC 311, I was greeted by Sal D’Amato, who helped instruct the judging course that I took, Mike Bell, who attended the same course, and referee Blake Grice, who instructed the refereeing course that I took.

I chatted with D’Amato about his weekly travels from Wisconsin to the various events that he covers worldwide, and he explained how he drives 90 minutes to Chicago so that he can fly direct. I chatted with Bell about the Altadena area where he previously lived that has been ravaged by the ongoing California wildfires and how friends of his have been displaced and lost their homes.

After all, judging is just one part of their otherwise busy lives, and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to get to know both of them and other officials as more than just their scorecards.

D’Amato and Bell are two of the sport’s most seasoned judges and, as a result, due to the volume of rounds that they score, their scorecards are often dissected on social media, especially if they have a dissenting view from both other judges or the public in real time.

One of the sport’s biggest issues, transparency in judging, is twofold. Very few members of the public, media and even those who coach and compete in the sport, take the time to learn how rounds are scored, and namely, how judges decipher effective striking and grappling.

The other major issue is that not only do judges not have a forum to explain their process, they risk being reprimanded privately for speaking on the record about their methodology when it comes to rounds scored or their refereeing in particular fights without receiving prior clearance from the commission, which, from my experience, is seldom granted.

That is why I relished the opportunity to attend the debrief, despite UFC 311 having no split decisions or overtly questionable refereeing instances, because transparency and education needs to be prioritized in the sport and that is something that Foster has been a beacon of light for.

At the start of the meeting, Foster recognized the judges as doing a strong job, which he states the broadcast recognized them for as well.

He then moved onto refereeing and offered particular praise to Grice for his stoppage in the fight between Azamat Bekoev and Zach Reese, as well as Mike Beltran for his stoppage in the Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill bout, which Foster credits Beltran for giving Hill every opportunity to fight his way back into.

Foster asked whether I had any questions that I wanted to pose to the judges or referees, to which I politely declined as nothing stood out to me as being particularly questionable and with the chaos of being backstage for the event and conducting interviews throughout the evening, it is difficult to give the entire card my full attention.

One question that, in hindsight, I wish that I had posed was to Grice regarding how he jumped in to stop the fight between Bekoev and Reese. I had missed the stoppage when it happened and did not realize that many were critical of how it was stopped.

Foster did take the opportunity to quip that the media are often quick to criticize the officiating and, while I agree, I believe that a major issue continues to be the inability for media members to pose questions to officials following events in forums such as the one provided in California by Foster.

It is imperative that Foster is applauded for a more transparent approach and important to acknowledge that judges and referees are eager to share their process, but commissions outside of California are very hesitant to allow them for fear that they will be discouraged by criticism.

This is an archaic approach that needs to be adjusted.

Education and transparency may not be the ultimate fix for a lack of understanding of the process, but it will provide a platform for officials to explain their rationale and express how their vantage point or something not seen on the broadcast may have influenced their decision making.

Having spent time speaking with officials in the sport, it is incredible how much passion and energy they put into what they do. Most of them travel weekly to officiate events and if they are fortunate enough to do so at UFC events, it is only after having spent years working regional events for tiny sums of money, all while working a separate full-time job.

The more the public view these officials as more than just a name on a scorecard, the more empathy, respect and understanding they will have for what goes into the often unforgiving and thankless work that they do.

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