Jason Macdonald: MMA judges need more guidance

In his most recent blog on Sportsnet.ca, Canadian MMA fighter Jason Macdonaldsounds off on the current state of judging in Mixed Martial Arts, after Saturday’s Quinton Jackson v. Forrest Griffin main event, which has garnered more interest over it’s judging, then the fight itself. However, Macdonald does not point to the judges themselves as the problem, but rather the criteria. ‘The athlete’ notes that

“And I don’t think it’s not a problem with the judges themselves. They know what they’re doing, they just don’t have clear guidelines. It’s just so up in the air. It’s not definitive on what a fighter is judged on. They’re talking about unified rules. How about unified judging?”

Macdonald also questions the judging in the Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida fight, disagreeing that Almeida won any rounds and could not believe Cote lost the fight on one judge’s scorecard.

“How do you score Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida fight a split decision? Almeida did nothing in that fight. So how does he get points for any rounds? You’re telling me not only did a judge give one round to Almeida, but one actually thought Almeida won two rounds!? He maybe threw 10 punches the whole fight and a bunch of them were while he was on the ground.”

Jason also discusses if Rampage should be given a rematch and who he feels is the hardest working fighter in MMA. Macdonald is not afraid to speak his mind on any topic and he blogs are certainly candid and enjoyable. Head on over to Sportsnet.ca to check out this week’s full write up.