Experiment to be held on Halloween – CFFC could change entire MMA judging system
CFFC & NJSACB to try experiment with MMA Judging
Cage Fury Fighting Championships’s next event takes place this Halloween at the Borgata. That night Cage Fury (CFFC) will partner with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board to take a shot at changing the way mixed martial arts bouts are judged.
Combat sports has a deep rooted history in the state of New Jersey. In the dark days of MMA, when the sport was kept off Pay-per-view and struggling to gain traction- the NJSACB were the first to come together and develop and implement the “Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts” – the rule set that is still in use to this day.
This Halloween the staff at CFFC will partner with the NJSACB to test a new style of judging. On the night of the fight 3 judges (In addition to the 3 cageside) will be placed in a sound proof room outside of the venue. There, the judges will have access to a state of the art high quality live stream of the action.
“I’ve often wondered if the hometown crowd and the limited viewing angles in which a judge sees the fight swayed the decision process,” stated CFFC CEO Robert Haydak Jr. “This is really going to be interesting whether the scoring remains the same or differs in any way.”
The commission will analyze the data for disparities between the cageside and off-site judges. For years, fans have critiqued the current judging procedure as there area multitude of variables that could influence the cageside judges. These include things like viewing angles, crowd reactions, and the audible coaching from either side.
The results and scores from the judges offsite will NOT influence the results of the bouts that night. Perhaps; they may be used in the future. CFFC was the first to bring back instant replay in the state of New Jersey – and they are very happy to be a part of the ever evolving regulation of mixed martial arts.
The CFFC is no stranger to game-changing ideas with the NJSACB. Last year the NJSACB implemented “Instant Replay” at CFFC 43. On the first night of it’s official availability it was used by the commission to review an inadvertent eye poke in the main event – a welterweight title fight between former Champion Jonavin Webb and then contender Lyman Good. The bout ended after a replay was reviewed by the commission.
“We’re fortunate in New Jersey to have such a proactive commission,” stated CFFC CEO Rob Haydak. “Nick and Larry have embraced this idea from the very beginning and are now spearheading the efforts to see it to fruition.”
