The increasingly frequent variation between judges’ scorecards in individual rounds has been a hot topic for debate in mixed martial arts.
Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras and prominent manager Alex Davis have both recently voiced their support for open scoring. Meanwhile, Joe Rogan weighed in on judging criteria as well, telling Aljamain Sterling on his podcast that he “definitely” won his rematch against Petr Yan. (For the record, Sterling did win a contentious split decision at UFC 273.)
Meanwhile, Brazilian judge Guilherme Bravo, author of the book “In the Judges’ Hands” and recognized by “Big” John McCarthy as one of the best in the business, not only agreed with Rogan but also emphasized the importance of normalizing 10-10 and 10-8 scorecards.