New Judging Criteria: Reward Flashy Fighters?
by Fraser Coffeen on Nov 23, 2009 6:35 AM EST
in It's Showtime
7 comments
In an interesting move, It's Showtime announced a change to their judging criteria effective as of this weekend's show. In case of decision, judges will now give an advantage in scoring to fighters who display a more attractive fighting style and show more spirit. This would be applied to close decisions, and would not impact fights where one man is clearly ahead on strikes. The idea is that this will inspire fighters to put in greater effort and cut down on slow fights.
Obviously, this is a pretty big change, and I am unaware of any other fighting organization who has a similar rule. In the past, organizations have used stand-ups (in MMA) and penalty cards to keep the action moving. Perhaps the closest corollary is Pride's heavy reliance on "effort to finish a fight" in their judging criteria, but this is somewhat different, as it is not based on effective of technique, but instead on style.
This is a bold move that could be great or could cause a lot of headaches. An organization that has faced its share of judging controversy in the past (such as last year's Buakaw v. Kraus fight), It's Showtime is clearly willing to try something new here. But the danger in my eyes is that this will too greatly muddy the already somewhat vague judging criteria. Judges will have to ask themselves: at what point does the flashiness outweigh the effectiveness? If a fighter is putting on a beautiful capoeira demonstration, but not actually doing much damage, is he gaining points for style? And the reverse, does a cautious, defensive fighter like Remy Bonjasky get penalized for his conservative approach? The answer, according to the new rules, would seem to be yes.
As a new system, we will have to see how this plays out before making any quick judgments, but I think it's fair to have some concerns. The adage "If it's ain't broke don't fix it" doesn't really apply here. Judging in kickboxing and all combat sports is indeed problematic. But adding more nebulous criteria is not a solution to that problem - if anything, it threatens to make judging worse.
It will be worth watching what effect this has on It's Showtime, and on the fight world if anyone else follows their lead.
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Put me down for terrible.
I think in the case of an incredibly close fight, the ones most of the kickboxing judges would score as draws, it could help..
But I think only in the rare case when the extension rounds have been exhausted and you still see the fight as a draw. It is kind of like that Sengoku scoring where you MUST pick a winner, even if it was a draw.
Head Kick Legend
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by D.W. on Nov 23, 2009 9:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If you look at how they score in K-1 and how Muaythai in Thailand is scored, they all have their equivalent. In Muaythai the effective use of Muaythai techniques plays a part. In K-1 it is agressiveness, such as simply moving forward and hitting on the defence (Look at Yamamoto vs Drago). Not saying I approve of the term “flashy” in scoring to begin with! But all scoring is in part an aesthetic choice to begin with in my opinion.
As long as they are only applied when all the other scoring criteria lead to a draw, I see nothing wrong with it. They’re a part of the rules, the fighters are aware of it and it is up to them to put on the best performance according to the rules.
The difference with Muaythai though is the number of rounds. You really don’t want to award a winner after only 3 rounds based on flashiness, if the fight was very close.
My biggest problem with this, is that I think the motivation behind it is It’s Showtime’s broadcasting ambitions. All those extension rounds make a mess of broadcasting schedules. Especially with the number of fights that It’s Showtime generally features.
by Daeron on Nov 23, 2009 9:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, that seems about right
That they are doing it to cut down on prolonged broadcasts.
Not every place is like Japan and OK with airing epic 5 hour shows.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
by D.W. on Nov 23, 2009 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
then they shouldn't
plan shows that long. It just seems wrong to award a decision victory to a fighter simply because he throws rolling thunder kicks etc. If its a draw then there needs to be an extension round.
by Infinite_Jest on Nov 23, 2009 4:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I am all for more rolling thunder kicks
but I agree, plus for fighters who have a more nuanced style, punishing them isn’t cool. Somebody like Petrosyan would drop a decision to a lesser fighter for taking hail mary shots, which isn’t cool.
Head Kick Legend
Twitter @HeadKickLegend
by D.W. on Nov 23, 2009 4:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
if they do this right,it MIGHT turn out great
by SoulBrotherNo1 on Nov 23, 2009 9:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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