Issue 107
November 2013
Former Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Journalist of the Year’ John Morgan discloses his judging revelation after Machida-Davis in Rio.
I’m sure at some point in my life I’ve probably heard louder boos, but the 14,000 screaming Brazilians voicing their displeasure at the announcement of Phil Davis’ unanimous decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 163 certainly seemed as high on the decibel level as any crowd I can remember in recent memory.
The ensuing online outrage was equally passionate, even if it wasn’t audible. It seemed no one – other than Davis, his corner and judges Sal D’Amato, Chris Watts and Rick Winter – believed ‘Mr Wonderful’ was worthy of a win.
Watching live, I actually scored the fight for Machida as well – 30-27. I was really torn on my scoring for the second round, to be honest, but I ultimately wound up giving it to ‘The Dragon.’ But even with my own personal score standing in stark contrast to the three 29-28 results ultimately issued in Davis’ favor, I have to say, this was no robbery.
‘Robbery’ is a word that gets tossed around far too often in professional sports. In truth, Davis vs. Machida was simply a very close fight brought about by an interesting clash in styles. Even in five-round affairs, a 50-45 score doesn’t necessarily mean a whitewash by one fighter. All five rounds can be decided by a single punch, leaving five razor-close rounds adding up to what might sound like a blowout.
According to FightMetric, Machida landed 27 punches in the 15-minute affair. Davis answered with 21 but also boasted two successful takedowns on 10 attempts. Taking emotion and momentum out of the equation, even the statistical analysis shows a fight that was open to interpretation.
Ultimately, it was Machida’s lack of action that cost him the win. While he never seemed in trouble in the fight, he also threw 37 fewer strikes and attempted 10 fewer takedowns than his opponent. While you can argue about effectiveness – after all, Machida landed 44% of his significant strikes compared to just 23% for Davis, and the former champ did stop eight of his opponent’s takedowns – MMA tends to reward the busier fighter.
If there’s one positive I did take from this contest, it was that judges – contrary to popular opinion – really do know what they’re looking for and realize the importance of their job. Some five or six hours after the card ended, I left the host hotel in Rio de Janeiro and walked across the street to the beachside kiosks that line the city’s shoreline.
There I found two of the three judges who scored the fight seated at a table with one of the evening’s referees. All three were reliving the rounds in their heads, debating the merits of Davis’ late takedowns and busier striking attack with the elusiveness of Machida and his pinpoint counter shots.
It doesn’t, of course, change anything in the record books. Machida still has a loss he’ll always feel is unwarranted, and Davis’ victory will forever have an imaginary asterisk attached. But it was nice to know that judges, at least these two, take their responsibilities very seriously and are constantly looking to
get better.
Biogenesis scandal & MMA
While it seems MMA fans now need basic training in biology and chemistry in order to fully understand the constant talk of testosterone replacement therapy and performance-enhancing drug use in the sport, I hope those who follow the news aren’t tiring to the point of tuning out.
The currently unfolding Biogenesis scandal has rocked Major League Baseball, but it looks like there’s more to come over the next few months. Biogenesis employee-turned-whistleblower Porter Fischer recently told ESPN that the Florida-based clinic’s client list included athletes in a number of sports, including MMA.
The claims alone were enough to send professional baseball executives on the warpath, and they invested significant financial resources in to finding out who, from their league, had benefitted from the use of PEDs. So far in MMA, no one has lifted a finger.
The sport’s key athletic commissions, including those in Nevada, New Jersey and Ohio, among others, should be taking a more pro-active role. After all, if athletes are juicing up to hit a ball over a fence or ride their bicycle faster through the French countryside for that matter, I absolutely couldn’t care less.
But MMA is called a combat sport for a reason. And for my money, anyone bold enough to lock himself in a cage with another human being hell-bent on causing traumatic physical damage deserves to know he’s standing on a level playing field.
