Pride Style Judging the Answer? Absolutely Not

Are PRIDE-Style Judging Criteria the Answer? Absolutely Not

Without trying to beat a dead horse on the issue regarding judging, the discussion revolving around the current MMA judging model is definitely an intriguing debate. After The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale’s debatable decisions on both the main card and undercard, many fans have realized that some changes need to be made. Kid Nate made the argument that the Japanese judging system might be a better fit for MMA while Joe Rogan seemed to side a bit with its application as well.

The PRIDE-style of judging is normally what is referred to as the Japanese judging criteria, and Sengoku’s old judging system was modeled after PRIDE’s attempt to have a meaningful criteria to score fights. Most hardcore fans will tell you that it truly came down to who was closer to finishing a fight, but damage has been a piece of the criteria that many have left out of the equation. Damage was a substantial part of the PRIDE system of judging a battle as it added to the notion that fighter A was closer to finishing fighter B.

Is PRIDE-style judging criteria the answer to all of our problems with controversial decisions in the sport? No, it isn’t. First and foremost, the potential for fights within that framework to become lackluster in the opening rounds increases. If a fighter truly knows that he isn’t a finisher, it may be better for them to remain purely defensive in an attempt to save conditioning for the more weighted third round of the fight. It’s a huge risk if your opponent is equally conditioned to go full throttle for three rounds, but I’d rather have fighters trying to win opening rounds rather than having an entire stable of fighters fighting in the same manner. I’m also heavily against having any type of notion of a “weighted” round. If one round becomes so heavily weighted, why not just fight one round?

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