"Those damn UFC Judges!!"

This is a refrain that anyone who has spent any time on MMA related sites will read over and over, and with the upcoming UFC 106 this weekend, we will probably see a lot more of too. The problem with this statement, besides the fact that it is completely incorrect, is that none of the major MMA sites (and correct me with a well-written article if I am wrong) have ever taken the time to educate their readership. This means one of 3 things to me:

One: They themselves don't know that this statement is wrong and think the UFC has a say on who judges the fights..

Two: They know, but never read their comments section, or any of the other forums on the MMA interwebs.....or.....

Three: They know, but for reasons of sensationalism and false controversy they choose not to correct this fallacy for their readers which only helps to continue to perpetrate ignorance over this issue.

Mike Chiapetta: Bad for the Sport?

Well, strangely enough it isn't Kevin Iole we get to call out first as a misinformed sensationalist, but Mike Chiappetta instead, thanks to his recent post on the "controversial" Couture vs. Vera fight at UFC 105. Steve Coefield would get called out the same way too thanks to his post at Cagewriter, but his post seems to be more a lack of understanding about how fights are scored, rather than Chiappetta's more strongly worded/MMA-impaired post about the so-called controversy.

But before we get started; was this a close fight? Absolutely. Was it challenging to score? Absolutely. That's why they have judges and criteria for judging MMA fights. We'll get deeper into this in later posts, but hit on a few things that even I can understand, which highlights exactly why those two posts above are sensational and misinformed about the results of the fight.

Was it controversial? No way. Close fight, but not controversial. If you want a controversial fight, how about Chase Beebe vs. Mike Easton at UWC 7? Couture vs Vera? No comparison. Here's why:

Let's sit and have a little talk shall we?

While this site will never be a Cage Potato, Sherdog, Bloody Elbow, or even an MMA Payout, or Fightmarks, and won't have nearly as many updates, what it will be is a little different. More of a technical discussion of how fights can be scored, as well as some op-ed posts. Somebody has to call Kevin Iole out now and again.
Currently, while there is a continued and welcome in the increase of the popularity of such a great sport, there is also a growing wave of ignorance about everything from what constitutes a "good" (i.e. technical fight), to how fights are judged, to which fighter should be the favorite in matchups, and everything in between. While casual fans, or new fans to the sport shouldn't be blamed for lack of knowledge, assuming of course they are willing to learn and don't just want to view MMA as boxing with kicks, there is a growing cadre of "experts" in the media that are widely read but profoundly ignorant about MMA, which only spreads ignorance. Just cussing about these guys in the forums does little to educate the average fan, so consider this site a little more organized in spreading the word about what good MMA is.