Yesterday I brought up the appearance of impropriety as the UFC’s, and MMA’s, single biggest obstacle. And specifically I was referring to this appearance as the result of inconsistent, or even faulty, officiating. As I mentioned it seems that after every event there is some controversy over the refereeing or judging. But how much of that is the fault of the officials, and how much is simply a matter of ambiguous rules. For now let’s take a look at that some of the ambiguity that goes into judging for fans and officials alike.
Recently the title fight between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone at WEC 43 led to debates over how judges value strikes vs. submission attempts vs. grappling control. The more recent fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua at UFC 104 did not lead to similar debates as the majority of fans across the board all seemed to agree that Shogun was robbed. Of course the judges did not agree.
There are many factors that contribute to the way we see a fight, especially when we have some preconception about how the fight is going to unfold. When a perceived underdog is significantly impressive, their success is often exaggerated. The skewed perspective is only exacerbated when you have a fighter like Shogun stalking a retreating Machida.
In an effort to better understand the disparity between the officials and MMA fans I re-watched the fight without the commentary and frequently used the rewind and slow motion.
I had to do this as this fight had so many pauses in action and sudden bursts of exchanges was not only very difficult to score, but to determine which strikes actually landed.I had to do this as this to capture the sudden bursts of fast-paced exchanges that interrupted then generally cautious pace of the fight. This was the only way I could determine which strikes actually landed. My goal was not to score the fight, but to record the strikes. Note that I did not count punches or kicks that landed on the arms. Some things I did discover include:
– Shogun blocked many of Machida’s punches.
– Many of Shogun’s kicks were either blocked or missed all together.
– The vast majority of Shogun’s leg kicks landed underneath Machida’s body kicks.
– The commentators frequently made a commotion over strikes that did not land effectively.
After almost every exchange, regardless of who landed what, Shogun backed up and spread his arms as if to indicate that he was unscathed and won the exchange. This was where Machida really disappointed me. I fully expected Machida to be able to capitalize on these moments as well as when Shogun spins around after missing round house kicks.
Similarly to the debate over how much a takedown is worth, this fight begs the question: how much is a leg kick worth. I’m no official, but I’ve always considered a leg kick to be an effective strike, similar to a jab. On the other hand, I’ve always considered takedowns nothing more than a means to and end, meaning it is not the takedown that counts, but what you do with the takedown. Alternatively should a strike’s value be judged in proportion to its likelihood of ending fights? According to Cecil Peoples’ interview, his perspective is that leg kicks don’t usually end fights and therefore are not valued very highly. While you may not agree with, or respect, Cecil Peoples, his ability to maintain this viewpoint is indicative of the greater ambiguity in mixed martial arts judging. According to the unified rules “effective striking is judged by determining the total number of legal heavy strikes landed by a contestant.” Well what constitutes a “heavy strike?” Maybe for some judges a leg kick does not constitute a heavy strike (unless it finishes the opponent).
All three judges scored the bouts 48/47, but they disagreed on the rounds:
Marcus Rosales gave Machida Rounds 1, 2 and 3.
Cecil Peoples gave Machida Rounds 1, 2 and 3.
Nelson “Doc” Hamilton gave Machida Rounds 2, 3 and 4.
You can also see their actual score cards.
Looking at the strikes landed in each round you can see where an official would score rounds for Machida if they dismiss the effect of legs kicks. If there’s one conclusion I’ve come to after re-watching the fight, its that it was not the robbery that it was made out to be.
Strikes in Round 1: | Machida | Rua |
head punch | 2 | – |
knees to head | 1 | – |
body punch | 2 | – |
knees to body | 5 | 2 |
body kicks | 3 | 2 |
knees to legs | – | 7 |
leg kicks | 1 | 4 |
Strikes in Round 2: | Machida | Rua |
head punch | 2 | 1 |
knees to body | 1 | 2 |
body kicks | 3 | 2 |
knees to legs | 1 | 8 |
leg kicks | 2 | 2 |
Strikes in Round 3: | Machida | Rua |
head punch | 9 | – |
elbow to head | – | 1 |
knees to body | 2 | – |
body kicks | 5 | 3 |
knees to legs | – | 2 |
leg kicks | 1 | 7 |
Strikes in Round 4: | Machida | Rua |
head punch | 3 | – |
elbow to head | – | 1 |
knees to body | – | 1 |
body kicks | 1 | 2 |
leg kicks | 1 | 4 |
Strikes in Round 5: | Machida | Rua |
head punch | 2 | 3 |
knees to head | 2 | – |
knees to body | 1 | – |
knees to legs | 1 | 1 |
body kicks | 1 | 1 |
leg kicks | – | 4 |
With the breakdown that you have provided, it appears accurate and conclusive with the fight I saw Saturday night. Commentating and cheering Rua's leg kick while Machila would be right there with a stike to the head made me at times think I was watching a different fight. I beleive this was a tough fight to score but I must say the judges were right and the commentators made fools of themselves..GR
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Thank you, thank you, thank you. I had a discussion with a friend on Sunday morning about how the announcers made it *sound* like Rua was dominating, but that in reality it was incredibly close. There were many exchanges where Machida hit Rua with a punch while Rua hit Machida with a knee, or Machida hit Rua with a body kick while Rua hit Machida with a leg kick. In most of these instances the announcers focused on Rua's strikes. This would lead you to believe Rua was way ahead, when in fact it was very, very close.
Look man, I don't know what kind of background you have related to fighting, but your article is inaccurate You and others need to understand that a leg kick is a much more devastating strike when compared to a punch. A heavy roundhouse kick can be much more damaging than any punch, be it a hook, right cross, or anything else. I used to fight professionally for a short while, nothing big, but I know this from experience. Don't take my word for it though, go talk to kick boxers and muay thai fighters then. Shogun blocked the vast majority of Machida's punches, and these strikes were not powerful Mike Tyson shots. Instead they were precise and technical counter punches, which can still end your night if they connect on your jaw, but they didn't, at least not often enough. Shogun on the other hand landed big kicks to Machida's legs, ribs, and yes, hands. These strikes could be heard loudly many times, meaning a lot of force was put into them. Why do you think Machida looked so worn out at the end of the fight and was favoring a leg? Granted Shogun didn't finish the fight, but he dealt a hell of a lot more damage than Machida. How can you win a fight by running away and throwing INEFFECTIVE counters that were mostly blocked? I didn't write this to disrespect you, but please do your homework before you convince more people that a kick is about as effective as a jab.
Caius, I'm not concincing anyone that a kick is as efective as a job. My point is about 1) the ambiguity officials face when deciding how to score fights, and 2) the various ways our perceptions of fights are affected.
Caius, I want to make sure there is no confusion about this: as i mentioned Shogun blocked many of Machida's punches, however I did not count punches or kicks that landed on the arms, or were blocked or parried.
Eric, nice article, but with all due respect, you have the right to your wrong opinion.
There was a major "Miscarriage of Judging" that took place that night and the CSAC should be ashamed of themselves.
Thanks Alex. Which opinion are you referring to?
Anonynomous,
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Who do you think is missing the big picture? The only one dismissing leg kicks is Cecil Peoples.
I think you did an EXCELLENT job of "looking at the other side". I am a Machida fan and thought he had lost the fight. I did think that the comment "In order to be the champ you have to beat the champ" (made by one of the commentators) was a great statement. Rua did not destroy Machida, if he would've won he would have eeked out the W.
After reading several blogs and comments it seems that, when gone over the fight as you did, a Machida win is much more convincing. And let's not forget, all three judges called it a win for Machida.
Great article, pretty unbiased. And as your numbers suggest, Machida landed more punches to Shogun's face then vise versa. Shogun threw more, but not by much. Not the great big drama as everyone is making…
Great article, pretty unbiased. And as your numbers suggest, Machida landed more punches to Shogun's face then vise versa. Shogun threw more, but not by much. Not the great big drama as everyone is making…
Look man, I don't know what kind of background you have related to fighting, but your article is inaccurate You and others need to understand that a leg kick is a much more devastating strike when compared to a punch. A heavy roundhouse kick can be much more damaging than any punch, be it a hook, right cross, or anything else. I used to fight professionally for a short while, nothing big, but I know this from experience. Don't take my word for it though, go talk to kick boxers and muay thai fighters then. Shogun blocked the vast majority of Machida's punches, and these strikes were not powerful Mike Tyson shots. Instead they were precise and technical counter punches, which can still end your night if they connect on your jaw, but they didn't, at least not often enough. Shogun on the other hand landed big kicks to Machida's legs, ribs, and yes, hands. These strikes could be heard loudly many times, meaning a lot of force was put into them. Why do you think Machida looked so worn out at the end of the fight and was favoring a leg? Granted Shogun didn't finish the fight, but he dealt a hell of a lot more damage than Machida. How can you win a fight by running away and throwing INEFFECTIVE counters that were mostly blocked? I didn't write this to disrespect you, but please do your homework before you convince more people that a kick is about as effective as a jab.
Eric, nice article, but with all due respect, you have the right to your wrong opinion.
There was a major "Miscarriage of Judging" that took place that night and the CSAC should be ashamed of themselves.