The Couchside Judges MMA Podcast: Recent Episodes
Scott Fontana and Dan Urban
The Couchside Judges MMA Podcast has reached its end. But between UFC Vegas 91 and Bellator Paris, the fights send the show out with a whole bunch to break down from a wild championship alternative decision to a disqualification.
This being the final episode, Dan and Scott have some farewell thoughts and sentiments to express to their loyal listeners. Please stick around to the end as the hosts pour their hearts out. Will anyone cry? Gotta listen to see.
BONUS: A mini-data episode, as Scott shares what he learned from finally completing a nearly eight-year dataset of UFC round scores, going back to August 2016 when the ABC passed the revised criteria.
In the penultimate episode of the Couchside Judges, Scott and Dan have their hands full with all sorts of Contested Rounds and Adventures in Officiating from the UFC's return to Missouri. That includes a unanimous 10-8 that the hosts ponder as a potential 10-7.
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It almost happened. The Couchside Judges nearly had a full UFC event without a single Contested Round. And one of the hosts has to accept some (all?) of the blame, as you'll soon find out. Nonetheless, Scott and Dan soldier on and break down the lone round — early in the UFC 301 main event.
Plus, Scott and Dan have a major announcement to make. Don't miss this episode.
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More fights were delivered from the UFC warehouse because, hey, ESPN demands it. Most weren't consequential, but they did provide Scott and Dan with three helpings of 10-8/10-9 splits to evaluate. Those, plus a split decision in the curtain jerker, make for the bulk of this week's episode ahead of a more meaty PPV event next week.
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PFL had the weekend to itself amid a post-UFC 300 break. The fights were solid and — blessedly — without major judging controversy. Scott and Dan have six Contested Rounds to break down, and for whatever reason the co-hosts were not on the same page as frequently as usual. But the biggest officiating outcry came in the form of a perceived early stoppage in Brendan Loughnane's win over Pedro Carvalho. Was the trigger pulled too soon? The CSJ weigh in.
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Sorry, fellow judging nerds: Scott and Dan have a whole lot of thoughts about the massive UFC 300 before they even get to the scoring breakdown. Just have a good time looking back on the historic card with the hosts until they get to Contested Rounds to examine a pair of split decisions, some 10-8/10-9 splits and two of the most lopsided, potential 10-7s so far this year.
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Three straight split decisions to end the night at UFC Apex dominates this week's scoring recap, including from a potential fight of the year contender in the Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis headlining rematch. Less needed to say about PFL's regular season opener in Texas which, against all odds, was practically a beacon of judging normality. Go figure!
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Two days late and two dollars short, but the CSJ are finally back to report on UFC Atlantic City, where Scott was the fellow in the blue shirt and glasses seated behind the blue corner. ("Hello, friends!") Dan and his cohort have a split decision to break down in addition to a handful of other Contested Rounds, but the big officiating subject matter coming out of A.C. was on the refereeing side. Eyes were in plenty of danger on the main card, so the hosts have plenty to say about a pair of finishes influenced to varying degrees by pokes and finger rakes.
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You know, the CSJ had every intention of speaking about the Contested Rounds across both UFC Vegas 89 and PFLator. Why will there be no breakdown of the three rounds from two Bellator title fights? Ask ya boi Max! At any rate, Dan and Scott have some thoughts on the five rounds from that Las Vegas warehouse in which the judges weren't on the same page, and they're worth your time ... even if Max doesn't think it's worth its time to make Bellator 302 available for rewatch any time soon. (Not that the hosts are bitter or anything.)
UFC Vegas 88, arguably the most pivotal MMA event in 2024, has come and gone, and — alright, so it was Apex filler of the lowest order. But some fascinating scorecards emerged from the Vegas warehouse over the weekend including a split decision that featured two unanimous 10-8s, one for each fighter. You just don't see 28-27s both ways every day, folks. Scott and Dan dive into that one, plus one of those wacky alternative decisions and even some adventures in officiating. Pivotal event? No. Interesting for judging nerds? You bet!
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One of the deepest cards in UFC history came and went a full five weeks before the milestone UFC 300 threatens to top it. Fortunately for everyone, UFC 299 came and went without much in the way of judging uproar ... but just enough Contested Rounds for Scott and Dan to sink their teeth into. The officials were mostly on the money, but a split decision in the curtain jerker and an 8/9 split to cap Sean O'Malley's impressive decision win in his rematch with Marlon Vera bookended the night. Please allow the CSJ to dig into those scores for your edutainment.
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Heavyweights .... why did it have to be heavyweights? Scott and Dan ask themselves versions of this question every time there's a non-title heavyweight headliner. Happened both before and after the latest obligatory UFC Apex-staged event, when Jairzinho Rozenstruik fought blandly for four rounds before a merciful stoppage after the fourth — but not before the judges were split on a pair of those rounds. Ugh!
Good news: The CSJ had a heaping helping of that sweet, sweet 10-8 vs. 10-9 debate to discuss on this week's episode, once they were done griping over those bothersome bigguns.
No time for Scott and Dan's shenanigans this week with 16 — SIXTEEN! — Contested Rounds coming from the first two-event weekend of the major MMA calendar for 2024. Most of that came from Mexico City, where just about every fight from the night's UFC event had something to revisit on CSJ. Buckle in for five split decisions across two continents, including the rare alternative decision.
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The UFC champions list officially had turned over in full in just 18 months, now that Ilia Topuria usurped Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. A smattering of Contested Rounds preceded the main event, and Scott and Dan have some debate about a few particularly intriguing rounds, as well as a disparate split decision from Ian Machado Garry's win over Geoff Neal.
Another week of warehouse fights with UFC branding on them means, yep, Scott and Dan will sift through those Contested Rounds they can't get enough of. Two split decisions and a deceptive, unanimous 29-28 make up the bulk of this week's judging analysis.
Much more intriguing is a very unique development for Dan: A Couchside Judge served as real, in-the-flesh shadow judge over the weekend at Cage Fury FC in Pennsylvania. Dan The Man has plenty to share about the revelatory experience, so tune in for that ... even if generic UFC content doesn't tickle your fancy.
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A big week outside the cage — and a smaller one inside it — dominate the discussion this week. Scott and Dan break down what the two rules passed this week in committee would mean if enacted at the ABC conference this summer. One of those directly leads into the latest generic UFC Vegas main event, which incidentally gave us three of this weekend's four Contested Rounds.
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A quiet week for the Couchside Judges stuffed between UFC 297 and the next never-ending string of UFC events opened the door for the hosts to give an old Past Judgment a second chance. For this week's Appeal Edition, Scott and Dan went back to the first fight between Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson — the good one, not the stinker of a rematch. Would the more liberal CSJ system's application of 10-8s and 10-7s open the door for the majority draw to yield a clear winner? Watch the fight for yourself on Fight Pass, and listen for our thoughts.
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UFC 297 featured a treasure trove of fascinating judging situations. You got a 10-7(!), an alternative decision, the rare unanimous 29-28 that's not exactly unanimous, a fight in which the judges were split on every round, and even some adventures in refereeing. Scott and Dan have a whole heck of a lot to sift through from the UFC's return to Toronto, so stick around for all of it.
This episode ends on a somber note as the hosts pay tribute to longtime NJ/NY judge Donnie Carolei, who recently passed away.
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Thanks in part to a high concentration of the most high-volume judges, the UFC's 2024 debut got off to a smooth start in terms of scoring. Even the many stoppages were clean from the referees. But no perfect night at UFC Apex gave Scott and Dan a couple Contested Rounds to wade into the new year. Plus, word of a 10-8 training session with the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave the CSJ reason to revisit a few lopsided rounds from the end of 2023.
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The One With All The Data is back! For the fourth time, Scott (mostly) and Dan dig into some real MMA math and explore judging trends from 2023. And with an expanded (near-complete) database of UFC round scores dating all the way back to the start of 2017, the hosts discuss what thousands upon thousands of rounds tell us about the scoring of fights and the men and women who assess them.
What's Judgment Day (other than a fantastic film sequel)? In a first for the CSJ. Scott and Dan run down the list of the real, actual worst-scored rounds from the year — not the ones the bettors are always whinging about. The full list from 2023 wasn't very big since the state of MMA judging is quite solid, but there's enough for the hosts to rank the worst of the worst scores, separated by 10-8/10-9 splits and wrong round winners. If you want to know what bad judging truly looks like, watch these rounds again like The Couchside Judges did.
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The Judgies are back! Scott and Dan look back on the year that was in MMA officiating to hand out the annual awards for top judge and referee, plus plenty more. Join the CSJ for the 2023-capping festivities.
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In the final UFC event of 2023, the cageside judges nearly sent The Couchside Judges into major MMA's winter hiatus with nothing to talk about. Lo and behold: a pre-Christmas miracle arrived in the form of a somewhat surprising Contested Round in the Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brando Moreno flyweight title fight. Scott and Dan break that one down while weighing the 10-7 bona fides of UFC 296's opening fight and the 10-8 argument in a unanimous 10-9 round between Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson.
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The final Fight Night at the UFC Apex has come and gone, leaving Scott and Dan with all manner of rounds to discuss. We had an alternative decision, a more suspect Contested Round, some 8/9 splits and several Couchside Overrides. Listen and learn which rounds were which.
For a change, judging wasn't what came most under fire after a UFC event in Texas. And while Scott and Dan have some strong thoughts on the few rounds the judges' diverged on, the biggest issue came in the form of a late stoppage in "The Fight for Fontana" between Jalin Turner and Bobby Green. The hosts sift through the judging and officiating from what was otherwise an incredibly entertaining evening of fights in the Lone Star State.
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Don't know how to put this, but the last week for PFL was kind of a big deal. Scott and Dan have a long to unpack, from both its purchase of Bellator announced last Monday and its season championship night on Friday.
The judging itself was largely sharp, even with a heavy workload. But overshadowing the weekly CSJ breakdown of Contested Rounds is a highly unusual situation the likes of which your hosts had not seen. We unpack what exactly happened in this rare happening.
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Bellator (on Showtime) came to an end with an exclamation point ... and a tremendous display of on-the-same-page judging. Out of nearly 40 rounds, the officials were unanimous nearly 90 percent of the time, leaving little for Scott and Dan to parse through in Contested Rounds.
Well, for Bellator 301, anyway. UFC Vegas 82 offered enough in the way of judging (and refereeing) to break down despite also being largely without perceived scoring controversy. Sit back and enjoy with your favorite MMA scoring nerds.
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Scott reports back to Dan on the happenings at Madison Square Garden, which was heavy on finishes and lighter on Contested Rounds. But with a pair of fights with split scorecards — including an alternative decision — there's plenty on offer for the MMA scoring nerd within you.
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So...a little late this week. Like, 3 days late. But Scott and Dan are finally here to break down the scoring from UFC Sao Paulo. And, boy, it kept us busy,
Eleven rounds, with five 8/9 splits, get the Contested Rounds treatment as the hosts again lament the current state of language for scoring a 10-8.
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A break from major MMA coupled with Francis Ngannou's near-upset of unbeaten champion Tyson Fury in his crossover to boxing had Scott and Dan thinking heavyweights. That's why, in the return of Past Judgment, CSJ turned back the clock 11 years to Cain Velasquez's epic beatdown of Junior dos Santos in their UFC championship rematch. Did the fight, under CSJ scoring, reach the level of the most lopsided final tallies in the segment's history? Watch the UFC 155 main event and listen to our thoughts.
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Welcome back to the Couchside Doctors ... er, Judges.
Yeah, Scott and Dan had to address the shenanigans from UFC 294 that led to two no contests, as well as another fight that featured plenty of field, about as many warnings to various degrees, and no punitive measures.
Oh, and we find time to go over the two Contested Rounds in Khamzat Chimaev's victory over Kamaru Usman, plus a deep discussion of the unanimous 10-8 in that fight's first round. Enjoy, fellow judging nerds!
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A day late and a dollar short, but the CSJ are back, and this time, Scott doesn't sound like death.
Edson Barboza picked up a thrilling, comeback victory over Sodiq Yusuff, one the featured a 10-8/9 split and another one Scott thought was worth considering as such. He and Dan break down those rounds and more from the UFC Apex card.
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Just one Contested Round each from a Saturday doubleheader of UFC and Bellator (main card), but those weren't even what set off the social media scoring discussion. That being the case, Scott (with a balky voice bouncing back from a cold) and Dan put that Uncontested Round from Vanessa Demopoulos' win over Kanako Murata under the microscope as well.
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Want to improve MMA judging? It starts with improving the scoring criteria.
Scott and Dan are quick to point out the issues with the document judges work from to score fights, but on a week without major North American MMA shows, the CSJ devoted a full episode to the topic of how to upgrade the criteria.
Special guest and fellow MMA judging aficionado Sean Sheehan of Severe MMA & Sherdog joins in on the discussion of what could work, what already does work, and what won't work when it comes to the criteria.
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Welcome to the Nevada judging pool, Judge Crippler.
Chris Leben made his Las Vegas debut as a judge at UFC Vegas 79, and he wasted no time finding his way into a split decision. But not all splits are the same, so Scott and Dan put that fight — Montserrat Rendon vs. Tamires Vidal — under the Contested Rounds microscope alongside seven others from UFC.
CSJ also takes a look at the two rounds of Johnny Eblen's middleweight title defense against Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299 after the champion lost a round for the first time in his career ... before securing a finish.
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Are you a fan of 10-8 discussions? Are you a MMA judging geek? The answers to those questions go hand in hand, and all who say yes are in for a treat after a Noche UFC card that gifted us nerds five (5!) 10-8/10-9 splits.
Three of them came in the prelim opener, but the final one of the night in Las Vegas was perhaps the most pivotal 8/9 split in UFC history, with the scoring of the fifth round of Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 being the difference between a winner and a split draw.
Scott and Dan have a ton of thoughts on 10-8s in today's MMA, especially as it pertains to this fight, so get comfy and listen, our fellow scoring dorks.
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Have Sean Strickland winning a clear unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya on your bingo card? Liar!
Not even the judges disagreed on any of the five rounds of the middleweight title fight. And a casual glance at the results from the 12-bout lineup indicates very little scoring disagreement. But a look at the scorecards reveals a pair of fights that each had one judge out of step on two rounds from his peers, so Scott and Dan dutifully dive in to see how the officials in Australia scored the action.
France hasn't hosted a heckuva lot of events from major promotions since it opened its (cage) doors to professional MMA, but we're getting a feel for what to expect from the judging for such shows: Trustworthy scores from the veteran UK/European officials and the odd nonsensical headscratcher from the locals.
That's certainly how the UFC's return to Paris played on Saturday. Scott and Dan had just three rounds to break down, but one of them ... well, let's say CSJ should be revisiting this one again at the end of the year for a worst-of-2023 discussion.
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Chan Sung Jung's career ended as it existed: violently and entertaining as heck. Scott and Dan look to place The Korean Zombie among the most entertaining fighters in UFC history.
He and Max Holloway even left a few presents for the CSJ with a pair of Contested Rounds — one close, one lopsided. Plus, one reviewed rounds not only receives a Couchside Override but had the hosts scratching their heads at why they would even be examining it.
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Sean O'Malley is on top after dethroning Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. And just before that, Zhang Weili and Ian Machado Garry put on 10-8 level beatings for their respective opponents.
Scott, back from vacation, and Dan, who is evidently more committed to CSJ than Scott, have a lot of thoughts on the 8/9 debate in those fights, plus some strong thoughts on a few PFL 8 rounds from a local judge.
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With Scott away on vacation, Spencer Kyte fills in to co-host this episode. With the prelims making this one seem like a light work load, the main card got us to 10 contested rounds, including 2 from Swanson/Dawodu that had twitter screaming robbery...again, what else is new?
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Dogs, boxing and baseball dominate this week's episode. ... OK, so they just make cameos. At any rate, a high-unanimity rate for UFC Nashville coupled with a ton of finishes at PFL in San Antonio meant not a ton of Contested Rounds across two major events. Nonetheless, the CSJ had dueling 30-27s fall into their lap in Texas, so let your hosts break down the scoring of the split decision in Gabriel Braga's win over Chris Wade.
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Plenty of finishes was a mercy to a lighter crew of judges in Salt Lake City on Saturday, but one split decision in the co-main event left Jan Blachowicz feeling robbed in his loss to Alex Pereira. Was he on to something? Did the judges do him wrong? Scott and Dan will take a look at that and more.
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A whole lot of fights and a whole lot of fights going the distance at UFC London, but only one split decision for Scott and Dan to dissect: Daniel Marcos vs. Davey Grant. But with so many scored rounds, CSJ still have some more Contested Rounds to talk about, including two in a unanimous decision victory by Bruna Brasil over Shauna Bannon.
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You get an 8! And you get an 8!
No, it wasn't Oprah handing out 10-8s at the UFC Apex on July 15. But with four 8/9 splits and a unanimous 10-8, Scott and Dan are gonna be looking at the degree of victory a whole heck of a lot in this week's episode.
Got a pair of split decisions to discuss as well:
- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez
- Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam
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It was Alexander Volkanovski's night in Las Vegas at UFC 290, but judging conversation gripped the MMA world well into the next day. Scott and Dan have only three Contested Rounds to break down — about as few as we get from a UFC card — but they're all in the minds of fight fans.
Let the CSJ dig into each one from both Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Moreno and Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner — two split decisions — and sort out of the confusion and vitriol are justified this week.
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Miss us? We're back for a special (read: late) edition of CSJ to catch up on the fights in Vegas while Dan was ... in Vegas. And really, this shouldn't have been a controversial card. It was to one particular member of the MMA betting community, so Scott and Dan spend a lot more time than expected with the Ariane Lipski vs. Melissa Gatto split decision (which was very split on MMA Decisions as well). Let's just say we have strong thoughts on why there's no need for strong thoughts on this one.
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Can it be? A 10-7!
It's true. The UFC's latest Jacksonville event yielded the promotion's first 10-7 from a judge in nearly 3 years. But was it deserved? Let Scott and Dan explain why or why not.
That round was just one of 12 on a busy, decision-heavy card, so check those out.
And while there wasn't time to get into the Contested Rounds from PFL, Scott and Dan have some strong thoughts about the organization's decision to suspend a playoff qualifier over a lackluster performance.
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A few days later than we'd like, but the CSJ are back. And It's happy accident, the extra time gave Scott the chance to sit in on the latest CSAC MMA Officials meeting and report back on some of the proceedings.
But there was so, so much more from the weekend to discuss, from Contested Rounds that Dan and Scott couldn't get behind to several Adventures in Officiating, strap in for a marathon of judging.
And bring some tissues to this one. Trust us.
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After a week of judging hand-wringing, UFC 289 in Vancouver went down without a hitch — mostly.
PFL's resumed regular season was another matter, even in a finish-heavy and entertaining event.
Scott and Dan examine the scoring from both events and discuss the career of Amanda Nunes in the wake of her retirement.
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Less than a week after the Memorial Day barbecuing cooled, the judging conversation reignited in the UFC Vegas 74 main event.
Some walked away from Amir Albazi's split decision victory over Kai Kara-France with the "close fight, not a robbery" mentality. Others ... well, they weren't so happy.
The Couchside Judges was made for this moment, so check out what Scott and Dan had to say about what's sure to be one of the most talked-about decisions of the 2023 MMA calendar.
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No major MMA cards over Memorial Day weekend, so Scott and Dan dipped back into the Past Judgment catalogue for a pair of Appeal Edition fights, re-reviewing the scoring from early episodes of Couchside Judges.
This week's Appeal Editions are:
- Demetrious Johnson vs. Miguel Torres
- Georges St-Pierre vs. B.J. Penn I
Armed with more evolved knowledge of how to apply the scoring criteria, do the hosts see these fights differently this time? Watch the fights on Fight Pass, then listen to what the CSJ have to say.
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Mackenzie Dern was a 10-8 machine in her dominant decision victory over Angela Hill at UFC Apex, helping to give Scott and Dan plenty to dig into.
-Could Dern have merited 10-7 consideration in any rounds?
-Did Dern do enough for three 10-8s or only two?
-Does that callout of Rose Namajunas make sense?
And that wasn't the only fight with some 10-8 consideration. Stick around for one of the most 8-centric chatter on a post-fight Couchside Judges we've had yet.
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Adventures in officiating!
Both Bellator 296 in Paris and the UFC on ABC fight card in Charlotte, N.C., featured their fair share of unusual happenings, both because of referee intervention and independent of it.
Other than the usual Contested Rounds (3 from UFC, a selected 5 of 10 from Bellator including Fabian Edwards' victory over Gegard Mousasi), Scott and Dan delve into what happened in...
— The foul-plagued technical decision between Mandy Bohm and Ji Yeon Kim
— Cody Stamann's gripe with a perceived and uncalled foul against Douglas Silva de Andrade
— Saul Rogers premature (later overturned) technical submission of Davy Gallon (Bellator)
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UFC 288 is in the books, and Scott and Dan were in the building to witness a host of fights with divisive judging including:
—Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo's split decision
—Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes' surprisingly close contest
—Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya and their disparately-scored split decision
Plus, the hosts share their experiences from Prudential Center over the weekend.
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What do Scott and Dan do when the judges are damn near perfect and there's only 1 Contested Round (other than go over said round)? Past Judgement!
After examining the first round of Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon, the CSJ look back at a pair of notorious decisions that took place in New Jersey ahead of this weekend's UFC 288 in Newark:
— Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans
— B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno II
Which one of them got Scott to claim "Robbery" with a capital R? Go back and watch those on UFC Fight Pass and see for yourself.
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Busy, busy fight weekend with the major players combining for three events. Plenty of fodder for officiating chatter this week including:
— Was Kana Watanabe robbed (Bellator 295)?
— Why the right call was made to make Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon a no contest (UFC Vegas 71)
— How do you score Matt Semelsberger's knockdowns in a loss to Jeremiah Wells (UFC Vegas 71)
— And plenty more from those events and Bellator 294
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All right, y'all. You couldn't stop talking about how Joselyne Edwards got robbed against Lucie Pudilova, so Scott and Dan will break down both that fight's contested round and the one nobody could believe was unanimous for Edwards. All of that leads into a greater conversation between the CSJ about the state of the scoring criteria language. Make sure not to miss this one.
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Israel Adesanya finally climbed the mountain and slayed his beast, so of course Scott and Dan will have some thoughts on the fight and what comes next at middleweight.
But this is a judging show, and that tends to mean discussing strawweight split decisions from time to time. And wouldn't you know it: There's two this week! Listen as the CSJ break down those close fights and more.
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UFC took a break for the first time in awhile, but Scott and Dan kept busy with Bellator and PFL. Perhaps the most noteworthy scoring chatter from the events came from Bellator's co-main event (which should have just headlined) between Cat Zingano and Leah McCourt. Several interesting rounds in that one thanks to momentum swings, so let the CSJ break down a pair of rounds from that fight and the rest of the weekend's major North American MMA action.
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So ... Texas happened.
That's right, another UFC card in the Lone Star state produced a scorecard that left even the most rationale criteria nerds scratching their heads. And few are bigger criteria nerds than Scott and Dan. They break down the 48-47 for Marlon Vera, Maycee Barber's split decision victory, and a pair of surprising 10-8/10-9 splits. All this, plus some strong words for referee Frank Collazo after allowing Gianni Vazquez to take unnecessary damage the night before UFC ... and then still judge the next night for, yep, UFC.
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Woah, Nellie, do we have a lot to talk about this week. Nearly half of the scored rounds splits from the UK's first pay-per-view in the post-pandemic era. Good thing Scott and Dan are up to the challenge of talking all 15 rounds from UFC 286, including a combined six from the final two fights.
Strap on in, and we'll talk you through the scores for Leon Edwards' title defense, Justin Gaethje's wild win over Rafael Fiziev, and even that prelim decision that left Jon Anik "speechless."
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Judging was sharp across both Bellator and UFC cards over the weekend, but through sheer volume they still left Scott and Dan with seven rounds to break down. (Yep, just seven.) A few split decisions, a pair of 10-9/10-8 splits, and a pivotal point deduction are all on tap this week.
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Huge card, huge fights, huge results. Judging? Not a huge problem at all despite a split decision and a foul-ridden majority decision. Scott and Dan dive into why those disparate scorecards are really nothing to worry about.
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A busy weekend — especially if you were a judge at Bellator — left Scott and Dan with plenty of rounds to discuss. Dive in this week as the CSJ examine some split decisions and 10-8/10-9 splits.
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More like UFC North Jersey, amirite? That's how Scott and Dan saw it coming into the weekend. And with Erin Blanchfield scoring a monster win and Jim Miller on the wrong side of a decision the CSJ saw the other way, the Taylor Ham Country dominates this episode. While Dan concedes he can't be unbiased when it comes to Miller, even Scott had to watch back the fight to sort out the scores. Listen and the hosts talk that one out.
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Dan can't get enough of Makhachev vs. Volkanovski, so the CSJ have plenty to say about the scoring of a close champion vs. champion battle. Scott also enlisted the help of an actual judge (whom shall remain anonymous) to give thoughts on a decision which left some — including Dan, at first — scratching their heads.
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Fedor's farewell took up a lot of the oxygen in a two-event battle between Bellator and UFC, but nothing got Dan more emotional than the frustration of super-late UFC fights between sub-standard UFC fighters. Predictably, it was those fights which produced half of the Contested Rounds of this show. Come for the judging talk, stay for Dan's rage.
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The UFC ventures Down Under in February for the first time since 2019, meaning The Couchside Judges haven't had many opportunities to bring up the local cageside officials. Scott touched upon some data regarding officials from that region of the globe. But numbers can't tell the whole story, so he and Dan do their due diligence by watching a ton of rounds scored by some of the officials who might be staffing UFC 284 and see how their scores stack up in a unique, lookback edition of Contested Rounds.
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The Couchside Judges give a warm welcome to Aaron Bronsteter, their fellow graduate of the 2022 ABC Conference's MMA judging training course (and the refereeing course, too) who joins in on all the Contested Rounds conversation. And with very little disagreement among the judges in Brazil, the bulk of the post-UFC 283 edition focuses on 10-8s vs. 10-9s.
Plus, Scott and Dan debut a new segment examining unanimous 10-8s for potential 10-7 consideration. Did either of the two from Saturday in Rio make the grade? Listen and find out.
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UFC live events are back, which means Scott and Dan dive back into Contested Rounds. Blessedly, one event is in the books without major judging uproar despite the occurrence the quirkiest of split decisions — the kind Scott has dubbed "alternative decisions." CSJ dives into that and more, so give it a listen.
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The 10-7 round is MMA's giant squid; it exists, but good luck ever spotting one live. To the knowledge of Scott and Dan, no unanimous 10-7 rounds have ever happened, and they're hyper rare to even have one judge pull a 7. But, at least in the UFC since the scoring criteria was modified in 2016, there have been 5 known 10-7s.
The CSJ examine those rounds, plus a handful of unanimous 10-8s in recent years, to see how they would score them based on the way they were taught at the ABC training course in summer 2022. Ever wonder why these rounds are so rare? Listen and learn.
Another year in MMA is in the books, and Scott's got a whole mess of data to share with Dan and the CSJ faithful. Want to know how often 10-8 rounds are being scored these days? Curious how often the most frequently-assigned judges see eye-to-eye? Aiming to know the year's winner of the most Couchside Overrides (insert obnoxious horn noise) ... or, on the flipside, whose rounds were most often overridden? Gotta check out the annual data special.
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They're back! Scott and Dan deliver the 2022 edition of the Judgies, the only awards in MMA which recognize the top judge from a calendar year. Of course, there's more hardware to send out in the mail than just that, so check out what else and who else in the MMA world the CSJ recognized for the past year. Plus, Doug Crosby isn't going down quietly, so Scott and Dan can't help but talk about the Judging Genius.
A week after the peak of 2022 MMA judging outrage, Scott and Dan are tasked with breaking down every, single, round of the final UFC fight of the year, a five-round split decision with dueling 49-46 cards. But, in a Christmas miracle, the collective MMA world seems to ... understand how that could happen. The CSJ are no different, and yet the hosts still break down all the rounds, plus six more from Saturday at UFC Apex.
Ho, boy. What a show we've got this time. Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon. Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev. Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello. All three had the MMA community and fans riled up for one reason or another. Leave it to the Couchside Judges to break everything down after the most wild fight weekend in the show's history.
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Another strong night of judging as the UFC ventured to Orlando for an action-packed main card. Scott and Dan dissect a pair of 10-8/9 splits and a split decision, as well as a weird stoppage reversal in the entertaining main event between willing strikers.
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PFL wrapped its 2022 season with a bang, and Dan was in-house in Manhattan to soak it in. Oh, and he's a self-described genius too (he'll explain). Meanwhile, Scott was home sick during the holiday, and yet both hosts made time to go over the few Contested Rounds from the championship event. That includes a split decision between Aspen Ladd and Julia Budd. How'd the CSJ score it? Listen and learn.
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Bellator was the much better attraction than UFC over the weekend, and it also featured a round that had Scott and Dan staunchly on opposite ends of the fence. But there's plenty of time to handle Contested Rounds from each event, so stick around as the CSJ discuss all nine.
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Was UFC 281 the event of the year? One of your hosts thinks so. Probably helped that so few of the rounds were contested, thanks to a whopping seven first-round finishes. But an unusual set of circumstances in one of the prelims led to the scoresheet being updated in the octagon, and, well, that's something the CSJ will have to dive into, won't we?
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A combination of sharp judges and early finishes aplenty at the Apex meant Scott and Dan have a light load of Contested Rounds to break down. But there's still plenty to talk about — as usual — including a little judging theory on a round all three judges saw the same way.
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Scott and Dan weathered a weekend of unfortunate events to bring you a delayed edition of CSJ. After some thoughts on MMA vs. boxing judging, the guys dive in on eight Contested Rounds from UFC Apex, including a pair from the rare case of an Alternative Decision that had social media burning up Saturday night.
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With two title fights ending in the second round, neither of the biggest fights from UFC 280 required Scott and Dan to weigh in on any Contested Rounds. But that high-profile bantamweight clash between Petr Yan and Sean O'Malley? That's another matter. The CSJ examine the pivotal first round to see if all the furor of over the split decision was warranted.
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Back at the Apex after a week without major MMA, Scott and Dan return to the typical CSJ format focused on Contested Rounds, like the unexpected pair in a unanimous 29-28 and a split decision between bantamweights.
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Scott and Dan bring you all a little bit of everything after a week with no major MMA events. We've got some interesting data on the frequency of 10-8 rounds, a Contested Round from an event last month in Europe that's pretty damn fascinating, some Past Judgment with an old Brock Lesnar fight, and a lookahead to the upcoming UFC Fight Night. Enjoy!
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Dan and Scott carried a heavy load this week, going over (almost) every Contested Round from both UFC and Bellator on Saturday. Settle in, sign out of your Facebook and check out a stuffed edition of CSJ.
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Against all odds, Dan suggests CSJ puts its full focus on Bellator 285 during a rare non-UFC weekend. Scott happily obliges ... and then Bellator offers precious little in the way of Contested Rounds — four overall. The hosts tackle them dutifully before mixing in a rare treat: an edition of Past Judgment, looking back at one of the weirder fights from the first 100 numbered events, Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes.
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Plenty of blood and cuts at the latest UFC Apex event. Scott and Dan discuss the grotesque gushers before shifting to more typical conversation about Contested Rounds, including a pair that the CSJ didn't think were the best of scores. Plus, have the hosts finally found a round that brings them to blows? Gotta listen to find out.
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Dan bids Nate Diaz adieu — for now — as he exits the UFC on a win, one in which two rounds were split. Scott and Dan dive into those, the whole damn Daniel Rodriguez vs. Li Jingliang fight, and a handful more from UFC 279 in our day-delayed edition.
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Holy 10-10 round, Batman! One of MMA scoring's white whales was sighted in the City of Lights over the weekend, and Scott and Dan have no choice but to explain why it should never have reared its head in what was otherwise a pretty solidly judged UFC debut in France.
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A no-UFC weekend means a break from Contested Rounds to go along with the return of Past Judgment, the segment in which Scott and Dan revisit old fights and rescore them using their more liberal 10-8 and 10-7 definitions. This week's fight revisits the one-sided victory the great GSP scored against Dan Hardy in New Jersey 12 years ago — which also happens to be the first time Scott attended an MMA event in person. Just how big would have been St-Pierre's margin of victory under CSJ scoring? Watch the fight, then listen and see.
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Leon Edwards' stunning head-kick KO to take the welterweight belt still has the CSJ processing it, and that includes multi-talented guest judge Dan Tom. With their bearings gathered, the trio look to contextualize where the moment ranks in the annals of the sport. Plus, five Contested Rounds to dissect from a solidly-judged UFC pay-per-view-card in Utah
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Chito knocks out another lighter weight legend in the second straight uber-entertaining UFC Fight Night. With two split decisions, a majority decision and a majority draw, Scott and Dan have some solid Contested Rounds material. Listen to the CSJ weigh in after a very busy weekend for major-level MMA
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The Couchside Judges has hit 200 episodes! Break out the cake and celebrate while listening to the criteria nerds break down the very few — but quite interesting — split rounds from Saturday, when all 10 UFC bouts ended inside the distance.
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With the UFC in Texas, you had to know the CSJ would have plenty of fodder for the latest episode. And who better to join Scott and Dan this week than Jay Pettry of Sherdog, whom had just attended ABC referee and judge training as well. The trio breaks down 10 rounds from Dallas, with more than a few rating as head-scratchers.
At long last, The Couchside Judges put themselves through the ABC MMA judging and referee training courses. Scott and Dan share their takeaways from this crucial step in their respective officiating education journeys in the meatiest episode of CSJ yet. Plus, Scott shares the happenings fun the conference itself, including the approval of two new MMA rules.
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Busy day in London for the judges. Fortunately, the typically agreed with one another on who won the rounds in the UFC's second card in England this year. But with a whopping four 10-8/9 splits, Scott and Dan had the chance to apply some of their newly-learned lessons from ABC officials training over the weekend.
After 24 hours by Dan's watch (and one by Scott's) the Couchside Judges returned from a terrific UFC Long Island experience, reminded of how much different it is attempting to judge in person vs. on TV. The boys made sure to watch the five Contested Rounds once again on the TV broadcast as well, and they've got the breakdowns ready for your ears.
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So many rounds; just enough time. Scott and Dan have their work cut out for them with 11 Contested Rounds from UFC Vegas 58. That includes a pair of split decisions (Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey and Antonina Shevchenko vs. Cortney Casey), one of which drove certain people bonkers on social media. Let the Couchside Judges explain why the decision was not only unworthy of outrage but also way more worthy of simply fanning out and enjoying the action.
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E. Spencer Kyte once again joins as a guest judge on CSJ as the guys break down UFC 276, which lacked any real judging uproar over split decisions and the like. But there was enough chatter about the way Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O'Malley's first round was scored that drew our attention. Plus, plenty of storylines to unpack from the event in a non-judging capacity.
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Even a 15-for-15 main event, with all judges agreeing on each round, can't keep the masses from debating the scoring. That's where Scott and Dan come in to weigh in. Beyond that, the CSJ put a prelim-opener split decision, a heavyweight fight and a dominant victory by a Nurmagomedov through Contested Rounds.
Texas, Texas, Texas. You just know some scorecard shenanigans are coming when the fights head to the Lone Star State. UFC Austin was no different, with a few rounds that left Scott and Dan scratching their heads more than usual. And as a bonus, CSJ looks at the PFL main event in Georgia after the "R" word (rhymes with snobbery) was bandied about. Was it deserved? Listen and find out.
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Here on Couchside Judges, the hosts rarely find "bad scores." They did Saturday, for sure. But was it in the Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos fight that riled up many a fight fan and pundit? Listen to Scott and Dan to find out.
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The heavyweight headliner gifted a first-round finish coming out of the holiday UFC break. Scott and Dan place their focus for this special Sunday episode on a pair of decisions (one split, one majority) and some 10-8/9 rounds before looking ahead to UFC 275.
A weekend free of major North American MMA gave Scott and Dan the chance dip back into Past Judgment for the first time in months. The Judges chose two fights: One blowout middleweight title fight and a hotly-contested split decision. How lopsided was Rich Franklin's win in the CSJ scoring format? Was Sanchez's win a "robbery"? Listen and watch the fights for yourself.
Why the heck are folks so mad about Ketlen Vieira getting the split decision nod over Holy Holm? No, seriously, why the fuss? Scott and Dan don't know, but they do know a close fight when the see one. The boys break down the deciding third round to explain the scoring of a fight that probably should have been forgotten long before the social media conversation got fight fans all hot and bothered. That, plus a few other split decisions that, while also close, seemed to bother everyone much less.
A pair of split decisions — one UFC, one Bellator — anchor this week's episode. Scott and Dan examine Katlyn Chookagian's narrow win over Amanda Ribas in Vegas, as well as Logan Storley grinding out a snoozer decision against Michael Page in London — even if Dan can't stand Bellator.
The Couchside Judges hits a day later than usual, but the hosts make up for it with a terrific guest: Matthew Wells of MMA Junkie. No shortage of Contested Rounds for the three gents as UFC 274 featured a whopping 12 instances of judging disagreement. CSJ breaks them all down, including two from the worst championship fight in UFC history: Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas 2.
Reports of a robbery at UFC Apex! Scott and Dan are on the case as social media outcry over the decision in Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake Collier necessitates an investigation. But is it a false alarm. Let the Couchisde Judges detective agency decide.
Whole lot of UFC and Bellator over the weekend, but the judges generally found themselves in agreement. Scott and Dan broke down some Contested Rounds that didn't impact the result of fights, as well as discussed the heavily-debated stoppage in Liz Carmouche vs. Juliana Velasquez from Bellator 278.
Scott and Dan answer listener questions! Yes, they do that now. Plus the guys cover Contested Rounds from both UFC and Bellator in a busy — and strange — MMA weekend.
Two split decisions were plenty of meat for the post-UFC 273 edition of CSJ, with Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan and Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres each hinging on close first rounds. Scott and Dan break down the rounds to, hopefully, dispel the notion that these fights were judged "wrong." Plus, Scott rails against the lack of tools at a judges' disposal when it comes to the freedom to use 10-8s in clearly lopsided rounds.
One Scott tweet as spring began birthed a full episode, one in which he and Dan examine the many submitted ideas for how to improve MMA judging. From good to bad to ugly, the CSJ consider each idea's merit (or lack thereof) while proposing some ideas of their own.
The judges were on point in Ohio, with more than 90 percent agreement on a busy UFC Saturday. Scott and Dan discuss the only two rounds with dissent — each from a split decision — and find plenty of time to speculate on the future of several divisions.
UFC London was a monster success, with almost as many finishes as rounds scored. But one split decision on the prelims between Elise Reed and Cory McKenna was all Scott and Dan needed to add juice to Contested Rounds. Plus, Scott has all the Pinewood Derby news you didn't know you needed.
Even on a busy fight weekend, the judges in both Nevada and Missouri found plenty to agree upon at simultaneous UFC and Bellator events. So Scott and Dan decided to look at all seven Contested Rounds between the two — still fewer than at UFC 272 last weekend!
Eleven. Contested. Rounds. Scott and Dan have their work cut out for them after UFC 272. Listen as plenty of Couchside Overrides are handed out, Dan tries to figure out what a 10-8 is in 2022, and Scott calls out all the media members who scored a round of a fight they couldn't possibly have watched in it's entirety.
The CSJ welcome Tajikbay, whose tweets are inescapable during UFC broadcasts these days, to help break down the scoring from the latest event at UFC Apex. With a pair of split decisions, plus a unanimous nod that ruffled plenty of feathers, Scott and Dan had plenty to discuss with their guest.
Fun finishes abound at UFC Vegas 48, with Dan reveling in Jim Miller's TKO and Scott thrilled by Jamahal Hill's wild KO of Johnny Walker in the main event. Even with seven finishes, the judges disagreed on six rounds, so the CSJ break down why the line split decision was no big deal, while a few other rounds were a bit more surprisingly without consensus. Plus, a little bit of Bellator chatter for ya.
Surprise, surprise! The CSJ are early this week, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. So Scott and Dan just couldn't wait to break down all the maddening Houston judging at UFC 271. And, as per tradition, a local judge was responsible for what may stand as the least defensible scorecard of the year. Listen as Dan's frustrations mount with the wacky Texas commission.
Scott's back from vacation and finally scored the main event from Saturday, which had folks peeved about the split score for days. He and Dan dig into the contested rounds, why they were or weren't reasonable scores, and hopefully offer insight into why a fight like Strickland-Hermansson can be tricky to judge. Plus, the CSJ look ahead to UFC 271 that's (gulp) in Houston, with all the challenges the local judges tend to bring.
Scott and Dan look back on a non-UFC weekend of combat sports — both real and scripted — that featured Ryan Bader's successful heavyweight title defense at Bellator 273. The CSJ discuss a fifth round that had some believing Bader lost, plus yet another Benson Henderson split decision. Speaking of which, the boys squeeze in an Appeal Edition of Past Judgment that reexamines Bendo's split win over Gilbert Melendez in 2013.
Scott and Dan find themselves in disagreement more often than usual when breaking down one of the two UFC 270 title fights. Do they come to blows? Are any mothers insulted? No! But the CSJ debate the round winners nonetheless from a riveting pay-per-view to kick off 2022.
With a pair of championships up for grabs this weekend at UFC 270, Scott and Dan decided to revisit one of the greatest January title fights ever: Edgar-Maynard 2. The CSJ decided it was time to rescore it after two years and an explosion of knowledge and understanding of proper MMA scoring, so this is the classic's Appeal Edition. Did their scores change? Listen and find out.
The UFC rung in 2022 with a ton of decisions but few contested rounds for Scott and Dan to debate. There were a few, as always, so the boys do their thing breaking them down. Plus, Scott offers a mea culpa over his score in the main event ... now identifies as a Casual.
Once upon a time, Scott and Dan started a podcast about MMA judging and thought they knew what they were talking about. They didn't, and they spent the first several months scoring fights in dumb ways. The CSJ are schooled now, so they thought it was time to give a second look at some old Past Judgments, such as Triple C's upset of Mighty Mouse in 2018. Listen to this one ... not Episode 12, when the fight got its first Past Judgment treatment.
The Judgies are back! Scott and Dan are ready to hand out hardware (it's in the mail, unless it's stolen) for officiating and fighting categories. The CSJ had such fun distributing awards they got a little carried away, but hopefully you'll have fun looking back on the year that was in 2021 MMA.
The Data Special returns! Scott and Dan are back to break down what all the data from scored rounds in UFC, Bellator and PFL in 2021 can tell us about the state of MMA judging. Did the infamous 10-8 scores in Round 5 of Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya have a clear impact on the number of 10-8s handed out the rest of the year? Are judges more (or less) likely to achieve unanimity in UFC than, say, Bellator or PFL? These questions and more await in the 2021 edition of the judging data breakdown.
The CSJ wrap up the final edition of Contested Rounds for 2021, which featured eight rounds despite 10 finishes. Was the judging a mess, or were there simply a ton of borderline frames to evaluate? Download or stream and find out for yourself.
The epic MMA judging nerd team-up finally is here! Scott and Dan are thrilled to welcome Sean Sheehan, essentially the pioneer of advocating MMA judging criteria education to the masses, to break down the contested rounds from UFC 269. We break down some interesting scores which, quite possibly, might have been different a year ago. Plus, thoughts abound on the futures of the lightweight and women's bantamweight divisions.
A day later than usual, Scott and Dan are back with a breakdown of the (very few) contested rounds from the UFC Apex on Saturday. More importantly, the CSJ have strong thoughts on a round in William Knight's win over Alonzo Menifield that the judges saw unanimously one way and the media scores on MMA Decisions saw unanimously the other way. Which is the crazy size? Tune in and find out!
The CSJ had no rounds to break down from the weekend as they digested their turkey and, especially in Dan's case, the Thanksgiving sides. But before Scott and Dan look ahead to next weekend, they went back to 2010 and re-scored Jose Aldo's first WEC featherweight title defense against Urijah Faber. And boy, was that one lopsided. Give a listen and revisit a steadily more thorough beating by Aldo, who all these years later is headlining the upcoming UFC card from the Apex.
A whole lot of rounds in a decision-fest at UFC Apex, but the judging was largely on point. Still, the lone split decision from Saturday got MMA Twitter in a tizzy. Was it warranted? Scott and Dan will be the judge of that.
Finishes, as far as the eye can see! With so much abbreviated action at UFC Apex, Scott and Dan had just three rounds to examine from this weekend's action. But two of them came from the thrilling main event and, predicably, ruffled some feathers despite all three judges giving the fight to Max Holloway, as virtually all agreed. The CSJ break down the first two rounds to see if the outcry had any merit.
Scott reports back on his experience covering UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden and explains why even a seat 10 feet from the octagon is too far away to appropriately score a fight. And with both championship fights decided on a pair of Contested Rounds, it's a no brainer that Dan and Scott examine who won each frame — and the titles.
The sequel to one of the best fights of 2019 arrives this weekend at Madison Square Garden as Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington meet once again at UFC 268. Although the first fight didn't quite make it to the judges, Scott and Dan decided to put it through the Past Judgment treatment anyway, evaluating the first 4:10 of Round 5 to decide who was in better shape going into the final frame and what the scorecards might have looked like using the CSJ Criteria.
The Score's Nick Baldwin joins as guest CSJ as Dan and Scott break down the fallout from UFC 267. The trio also revisit the judging in Abu Dhabi, which was largely on point. What was not impressive? The refereeing in Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos' win over Benoit Saint Denis, which did not please anyone on the show.
After what felt like a weeklong event, PFL completed crowning its 2021 champions and awarding each $1 million. Scott and Dan have some thoughts on the organization's artificially-long event, as well as some of the split rounds from the crew of local Florida judges tasked with assessing who deserves the seven-figure prizes, if need be.
- Scott and Dan kept their focus on the UFC (mostly) and Bellator on a very busy combat sports Saturday. The CSJ break down the Contested Rounds, as usual, without too much controversy despite a split decision and a majority draw. Plus, point deductions galore! The boys discuss the bevy of penalized fouls from the UFC main card.
UFC and Bellator seamlessly flowed one main card to the other Saturday. Before the transition, however, Scott and Dan were left with eight Contested Rounds to break down, including one from the terrible main event. The CSJ will break them all down, as well as debate a surprising 10-8 split in Bellator's headlining title fight that also served as one half of the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals.
The episode you've all been waiting for is here! Or, at least, the episode we told you would be a little delayed. With Dan back from Las Vegas, he and Scott can finally break down the four Contested Rounds from Saturday's fight card from, including the blood-spilling third round between Damon Jackson and Charles Rosa.
Judging talk takes a back seat to discussion surrounding the use of replay at the UFC Apex to rule Kyle Daukaus vs. Kevin Holland a no contest. Scott and Dan discuss the events that led up to the decision after a clash of heads changed the direction of the fight. The CSJ also take the time to break down since takeaways from last week's CSAC officials training. And, of course, the guys weigh in on the split rounds. Can't skip that!
What a beautiful collection of violence us fight fans were treated to on Saturday, with no higher spot than Round 3 of the main event between featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega. Scott and Dan welcome Ryan Frederick of Wrestling Observer and Fight Game Media to break down the six rounds in which the judges' disagreed in what was overall a strong night from the officials, who were faced with some high-difficulty rounds to assess.
With Dan being such a Nick Diaz fan, the CSJ just had to put a pair of his fights through the Past Judgment treatment ahead of his long-awaited return to the octagon on Saturday for UFC 266. That includes his first fight with Robbie Lawler, as the two will square off in a rematch 17 years in the making. Plus, Scott and Dan look ahead to that fight and the two championship bouts.
Scott and Dan lead with Bellator in this one, as they had the more high-profile matchup off the weekend compared to UFC. More importantly for this show, Davis-Romero featured one of the most contested scorecards. The CSJ break down why this judge who assessed the score almost surely will want that one back. Plus, the boys break down a few UFC rounds in an overall strong night for the Las Vegas crew.
Past Judgment has returned! And the CSJ are going with an unorthodox pick this time by reviewing Silva-Sonnen I, which did not go the distance but saw The Spider pull off a wild fifth-round finish in a fight he clearly was losing. But how far behind would Silva been if the bout had been scored using Scott and Dan's more liberal use of 10-8s and 10-7s? Listen and hear for yourself.
The judges at the Apex were almost fully in sync — outside of a pair of rounds in the curtain jerker. Scott and Dan brown those down, and CSJ had plenty of time to debate oblique kicks, championship contention and a pair of English prospects who shined in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Three split decisions from UFC Apex are the stuff those CSJ gents are all about. Scott and Dan examine all three, including one that featured two point deductions. Judge Adalaide Byrd was involved in two of the three, with one round drawing a sharp critique — although one of the hosts backed her in a separate Contested Round. Tune in to see what and why.
After a week off from UFC action, the fights were back at the Apex with some on-point judging. But, as always, Scott and Dan had a few rounds — including two from a split decision in the co-main event — to break down as Contested Rounds returns.
Tony Cummings, of the most forward-thinking regulators in combat sports, drops by to chat with Scott and Dan about its recently-approved ONE Championship rule set, the possibility of open scoring coming to his state, and how he would like to see MMA grow during his time with the Colorado commission.
Scott and Dan welcome guest Drake Riggs, who contributes to a host of MMA outlets, to break down how Houston had a few judging problems as the UFC returned for the second time this year. The CSJ break down the six split rounds, with mostly local judges in the minority, and discuss why it might be better to trust the devil you know than the devil you don't when it comes to complaining about the most frequently-staffed traveling judges.
Past Judgment returns! This being the week before a UFC pay-per-view, Scott and Dan are back for a Friday edition of CSJ that revisits the 2011 featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick — the one where Hominick made it interesting in the final round after a huge hematoma sprouted from his forehead. Plus, a look ahead to UFC 265.
Bellator took top billing over the weekend, but it was the UFC card that featured two fights close enough to have been scored a draw from at least one judge. Scott and Dan break those down, as well as a hyper-challenging split decision on the Bellator main card.
Scott and Dan welcome back E. Spencer Kyte as a guest to help break down a very contentious set of split rounds from the weekend's UFC action. A pair of split decisions and a majority decision are on the menu for the latest from the Couchside Judges
The big UFC headliner for the weekend is Cory Sandhagen vs. TJ Dillashaw, but Scott and Dan already put some of their best Past Judgment candidates through the process, so they went in a different direction. Since Couture’s dominant win over champions Sylvia in 2007 was Dan’s first live televised MMA experience, we went back to that one to see how many rounds deserved more than a mere 10-9 for The Natural.
Plenty of finishes and few split rounds at UFC Apex on Saturday. Scott and Dan break those few down as usual, and they had enough time to dive into the close split decision headliner at Bellator 262, which left Dan ready to rage about what he can't stand fun the Bellator MMA product.
Dan plays the hero again and carries the episode, while Scott’s still a mess. In honor of Miesha Tate’s return from nearly five years away from competition, the CSJ selected a fight from her catalogue with some big extremes for each woman. Did their scoring system’s more liberal use of 10-8s allow for a different result than the majority decision which went Tate’s way? Watch on Fight Pass, then listen to the Couchside Judges.
Dan handled the heavy lifting for Scott, who was under the weather, but it wasn’t too heavy as UFC 264 produced relatively few scored rounds and only five splits among the judges. That included the only round from the hyped rubber match between Poirier and McGregor. Did “The Diamond” deserve a 10-8 or only a 10-9? The CSJ weigh in.
It’s always “Conor McGregor this; Conor McGregor that.” Not on our show. Scott and Dan are making it Dustin Poirier fight week with a pair of Past Judgment looks back at some of his excellent lightweight battles from recent years. It’s hard to have a bad time watching a Poirier fight, but does the CSJ system tweak the winner in a pair of close contests? Watch, then listen.
Dan hates fireworks for some weird reason, but he's a big fan of the figurative fireworks we love to see from wild opening rounds in MMA. So with that in mind, Scott and Dan picked three fights with explosive and stunning first rounds that ended in the second frame, and the CSJ duo score them using their more liberal scoring system.
After raging a bit at the dumb UFC decision to create an interim title for next months pay-per-view event in Houston, Scott and Dan settle in for something much more fun involving the big boys: the classic five-round draw between Hunt and Bigfoot. And the CSJ scoring system gets a real workout in this one. Watch the fight, then listen to the Couchside Judges.
A very busy fight weekend yielded split decisions at all the major North American promotions: UFC, Bellator and PFL. Scott and Dan weigh in on all the relevant rounds, as usual, and try to figure out what to do with Ciryl Gane after his win in the UFC headliner.
Scott and Dan are going back — way back — to the early days of the unified rules era for this week’s Past Judgment, examining one of the top fights from 2001 as The Natural and The Rock exchanged big rounds early in their grueling heavyweight title clash. The CSJ look back at how that fight would score in their system, and Scott sprinkles in some little info nuggets from Randy Couture himself, having spoken to the UFC Hall of Famer about the fight earlier in the week.
The Korean Zombie earned a clear decision, but a few split nods on the UFC card warranted further examination. But the biggest judging flub of 2021 came in the PFL headliner, and it's one Scott and Dan have strong thoughts about. Check out why we almost resorted to the R word that rhymes with "snobbery."
A double dip into Past Judgment gets heated as Scott and Dan nearly come to blows and fire one another from the show. OK, not really. But with a pair of interesting fights from a CSJ scoring perspective, there's plenty of discussion of what constitutes a 10-8 in our patent-pending criteria.
The Last Stylebender was rarely in trouble en route to a trio of 50-45 scorecards, and the judges in Arizona were strong overall. But one of the worst injury stoppages Scott and Dan can remember is a black spot on a great fight card. We'll talk about that, some contested rounds, and a PFL fight with scoring all over the map.
A rematch of one of the most acclaimed title fights of 2020 is on tap as UFC 263 will take center stage, even in a jam-packed major MMA week. And since that fight went down as a fascinating majority draw between champion Figueiredo and challenger Moreno, it only made sense for Scott and Dan to revisit it for Past Judgment. Would the CSJ system alter the result? Do the Couchside boys feel differently about the scoring six months later? Watch, then listen to the discussion.
The heavyweights did their job Saturday at UFC Apex, with both the main event and co-headliner ending inside of the first 5 minutes. Nice job, big guys. Although one of the CSJ’s most contentious decisions came from the other heavyweight fight, the featured prelim. Scott and Dan will put that fight under the microscope for an abbreviated Contested Rounds — thanks to some superb judging on the whole at a decision-laden event.
Live major MMA returns Saturday with the UFC after a welcome weekend off. It’s a disappointing heavyweight headliner in Las Vegas, so Dan and Scott skipped looking back at any of the competitor’s past fights. Instead, they revisited a terrific light heavyweight title clash from 2015 that saw all three judges post different scorecards.
No live major events to break down the judging, so Past Judgment returns for our Memorial Day show with one of the UFC Hall of Fame title fights: Jones-Gustafsson I. The bout was close in 2013, how close exactly? Scott and Dan reexamined it and found one round that ought to have been scored to a higher degree than the others — if CSJ scoring a real, official thing, that is.
No fights this weekend, so the CSJ just went with a theme for this week’s dual Past Judgments: Stockton’s own Nate Diaz. Can Dan resist his pro-209 bias and score these fights down the middle? Watch the fights, then see what he and Scott thought.
After a volatile UFC 262 from a judging standpoint, thanks largely to Houston-based officials, the UFC returned to the comforts of Las Vegas. And while the overall quality of the judging was a cut above last week’s event, Scott and Dan still had plenty of Contested Rounds to discuss. That includes a pair of splits in the headliner, with one judge’s scorecard quite different from his peers. Leave it to the CSJ to explain why that might — or might not — be totally fine.
Cody Garbrant fights don’t hit the judges too often, but the last time one gave the officials quite a workout. Four out of five rounds from Garbrandt’s championship victory over Dominick Cruz in 2016 saw disagreement, including a 10-8/9 conundrum. Since Garbrandt’s back in action this Saturday against Rob Font, Scott and Dan figured the time was right to revisit Cruz-Garbrandt.
Texas judging is back! OK, maybe that’s not exactly a reason to get excited. Instead, it’s bound to make many an MMA fan’s blood boil. And while disaster didn’t strike in any UFC 262 bout (as in, everyone that ought to have won, did win) Scott and Dan have plenty of split rounds to dissect, including the split decision that had everyone — the CSJ included — pretty riled up.
With the UFC about to crown a new lightweight king, Scott and Dan have reached into the back catalogue of one of the two men vying for the vacant title. We’re going back to the first meeting between Michael Chandler (who faces Charles Oliveira this weekend) and Will Brooks under the Bellator banner. Google that fight, watch it, then see what CSJ scoring says about how that fight could have been scored.
We got rounds, folks! Plenty of disagreement at UFC Apex on Saturday, with nine rounds either split on winner or 10-8 vs. 10-9. Scott and Dan break ‘em all down, plus five from Friday’s Bellator main card, and a few of which the CSJ disagreed pretty strongly with the dissenting judges. Even the hosts themselves weren’t on the same page with many of these, so strap in for a deep dive into a busy three-day stretch of the MMA calendar.
With so much major MMA this week, Scott and Dan did not suffer from a lack of fighters to choose a past fight to break down ahead of the three-night PFL/Bellator/UFC marathon. So the CSJ settled on a 2015 split decision featuring Neil Magny (who faces Geoff Neal in the octagon on Saturday) against Kelvin Gastelum, which offers several rounds that merit debate for more varied scores in our system.
With just two finishes at UFC Apex on Saturday — both spectacular and at the end of the event — the judges were busy in Las Vegas. That led to a ton of split rounds, nine in total, so Scott and Dan weighed in on all of them. Plenty were totally viable scores, but one round in particular stuck in the craw of the CSJ.
Scott and Dan are mixing it up with both a Splittin’ Headaches and a Past Judgment, and it’s hitting your ears a day early to release ahead of PFL’s second regular-season event. Dominick Reyes returns to UFC action on Saturday, so the CSJ revisited his split decision win over Volkan Oezdemir.
Wild weekend of octagon fights in front of the fans, with all three championship fights ending early due to strikes. But even at that, one of them gave Scott and Dan a split round among the judges to break down. That, plus several other rounds, are the heart of this episode, but we also weigh in on PFL’s season opener and a surprising 10-8 split in the headliner.
For everyone at home, Zhang vs. Jedrzejczyk was an all-time classic. For the cageside judges last March, it’s hard to imagine a greater pressure cooker than a championship fight with almost every round closely contested. And so with fans returning this weekend for UFC 261 and the champ Zhang back in the cage for the first time since the last event that featured a full crowd, Scott and Dan will run through all four split rounds from the 2020 classic.
The CSJ cannot hide from the fact that, well, Saturday’s UFC card stunk. But it did provide four consecutive split decisions, which is the lifeblood of this podcast. Scott and Dan sink into each one, as well as offer thoughts on what to do with the UFC middleweight title picture in the wake of Robert Whittaker’s sublime performance in victory.
Robert Whittaker is back in action, and it’s practically criminal that Scott and Dan haven’t gone back to the epic rematch between Bobby Knuckles and Yoel Romero yet for Past Judgment. Time to fix that. Watch the fight and give this episode a listen. See if you agree with us that the CSJ scoring system produces a more reflective score from the fight.
Buckle up, fight fans! Scott and Dan have a jam-packed show with 13(!) rounds from the Bellator 256 main card on Friday and the UFC on ABC event Saturday afternoon. We’ve got 10-8s we disagree with. We’ve got 10-8s that we can’t understand why they had any disagreement. We’ve got close dissents and no-to-close dissents. Check it out as the CSJ crew breaks it all down from the busy weekend.
The Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix commences this weekend with Lyoto Machida taking on Ryan Bader in a rematch. And because Machida has been in his fair share of interesting decisions, Scott and Dan will revisit his 2010 three-round headlining loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson that surprised even Rampage. The CSJ also look back at ONE on TNT’s peculiar debut and ahead to both Bellator and UFC cards this weekend.
The CSJ boys cover a lot of ground in this one, from Bellator 255’s main card contested rounds to ONE on TNT 1’s upcoming American TV debut, headlined by Demetrious Johnson challenging Adriano Moraes for the flyweight title. Scott and Dan decided to put Mighty Mouse’s 2012 majority draw through Past Judgment thanks to a perfect storm of strange circumstances and an extremely rare round score. Watch that fight, then listen to us.
Bellator takes center stage in a bye week for the UFC, with the No. 2 MMA outfit about to debut on Showtime. In honor of the occasion, which will be headlined by a Patricio Pitbull title fight, Scott and Dan decided to look back on his split decision against Daniel Weichel for the second edition of Splittin' Headaches. We also picked the rubber match of the superb Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson trilogy, which was decided by a split third round on one of the final Strikeforce cards on Showtime.
Before Francis Ngannou ascended to the peak of the heavyweight title ladder, UFC 260 produced a few interesting rounds worth dissecting. Scott and Dan take a look at the Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Modestas Bukauskas split decision, an interesting second round between Miranda Maverick and Gillian Robertson, and both full rounds from Sean O’Malley’s Round 3 KO of Thomas Almeida.
The champ is here! Stipe Miocic is back in action this coming Saturday, so Scott and Dan decided to revisit his superb 2014 bout between him and former champ Junior dos Santos. The bout is often looked at as a coming out party for Miocic, even in defeat, so the CSJ figured it would be fun to look back and see if any of the rounds could lead to a different result in our scoring system.
The Couchside Judges do not have too many rounds to discuss from Saturday’s fights, thanks to another standout weekend from the judges in Nevada. Nonetheless, Scott and Dan break down the three which saw disagreement among the officials. They also take a look at the greater middleweight picture and what could be next for Kevin Holland if he drops to 170 pounds.
The Couchside Judges debut a new segment with Splittin’ Headaches. As with Past Judgment, Scott and Dan revisit a past fight — in this case, 2010’s Shields-Kampmann — and rescore it. This time though, we’re ditching CSJ scoring and focusing squarely on how we felt a fight the judges didn’t fully agree on ought to be scored by today’s judging standards.
Surprise Sunday show! A pair of no-contests due to separate fouls — an eye poke in Edwards-Muhammad and an illegal knee (again!) in Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart — marred what was otherwise an action-packed and relatively cleanly judged event. That said, Scott and Dan had a pair of divisive split decisions to discuss in addition to the fight-ending fouls in the aforementioned bouts..
With both Leon Edwards and Dan Ige in action this weekend at UFC Apex in separate bouts, Scott and Dan chose to look back at three-round bouts featuring each man that went down as split decisions. One round in particular was scored in such a way that left the CSJ perplexed.
A 15-fight, three-championship bout pay-per-view event is about as appropriate a way to ring in the milestone 100th episode of this show as Scott and Dan could think of. The Couchside Judges dive deep into the Blachowicz-Adesanya headliner, look hard at the scoring of a fascinating first round of the Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan fight, and offer up reflections of the show as they reach triple-digit episodes.
The Couchside Judges took advantage of an opportunity to listen to the cageside judges break down rounds and officiating protocols in the latest MMA officials training meeting, hosted by Andy Foster and the California State Athletic Commission. Scott and Dan discuss the lessons they took away from the real experts. Plus, the CSJ break down the last time light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz fought to a decision ahead of his first title defense this coming Saturday.
The heavyweight headliner wasn’t a thriller, nor did it provide the anticipated finish. But at least the judges nailed the score, something they did with regularity on a decision-filled Saturday at UFC Apex. Only the odd round here and there saw disagreement, but Scott and Dan felt the majority draw between Mayra Bueno Silva and Montana De La Rosa deserved a good look anyway.
If you think Georges St-Pierre is the mixed martial arts GOAT, you might be inclined to point to his thorough shellacking of Jon Fitch in his first successful welterweight title defense as his peak performance — and that’s saying something. Scott and Dan look back at this one from 2008, which earned GSP at least one 10-8 from each judge. Would CSJ scoring make it even more lopsided? Let’s see.
Never tell Derrick Lewis the odds. Didn’t matter that The Black Beast was a heavy underdog to Curtis Blaydes once a crushing uppercut violently ended the night. Scott and Dan discuss a rejuvenated heavyweight division as well as a fascinating fight — from a judging standpoint — in the Yana Kunitskaya vs. Ketlen Vieira co-main event.
The Couchside Judges once accepted the Kansas Athletic Commission’s invitation to virtually shadow judge, but they’re amateurs who’ve never fought. Invicta and Cagy Fury veteran Jillian DeCoursey, on the other hand, brought a much different perspective to the table when she gave it a shot at LFA 99. Scott and Dan spoke to her about her experience in the (remote) chair.
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman put a stamp on his victory over former teammate Gilbert Burns, without needing the judges’ input. Several fights did, although the judging was so sharp and the fights clear enough that few rounds were split. Still, Scott and Dan found a few they couldn’t agree on while discussing the Contested Rounds.
As one of the most well-respected officials in the sport, Marc Goddard has a wealth of knowledge and passion for MMA. So Scott and Dan were thrilled to welcome him onto The Couchside Judges to give us — and you, the listener — insights on everything from deprogramming misconceptions to his work with the IMMAF. Don’t skip past this episode
Saturday’s heavyweight headliner and the co-main between Cory Sandhagen and Frankie Edgar weren’t competitive for long, and neither was Sunday’s Super Bowl. Scott and Dan have thoughts on all three, as well as some of the split rounds from Las Vegas.
The big guys headline a day before the big game as Alistair Overeem faces Alexander Volkov, so Scott and Dan figured they’d rip into the Reem’s shockingly light catalogue of decisions for review. And boy, did they pick some weird ones in the form of the second and third times Overeem faced Fabricio Werdum. Why so strange? Give us a listen and find out.
With Frankie Edgar back in action this coming Saturday, Scott and Dan look back at his coming out party: the first fight against B.J. Penn 11 years ago. Many at the time — Dan included, felt strongly at Penn won. Does he still feel that way? Plus, the CSJ look back at one judge’s infamous online reaction to the blowback from his score of that fight.
It's about time Scott and Dan looked back at one of Bellator's best fights, the Chandler-Alvarez rematch from 2013. The Couchside Judges rescore the fight with their patented (not literally) scoring system, and one of them ended up with a different result. Watch the fight and give the show a listen.
Surprise, surprise, Dustin Poirier sparkled like a Diamond in his second-round TKO victory over Conor McGregor (after a challenging first round, that is). Scott and Dan have plenty to say about them and the lightweight division, plus a bit on the few disputed rounds from what was overall a smooth night from the judges at Fight Island.
Wednesday morning UFC is a thing now. And with so many of the 14 bouts going the distance, or at least past the first round, there were bound to be some split rounds. Scott and Dan go over ‘em all and look ahead to Saturday’s pay-per-view.
Has there ever been a more impressive, lopsided, full-five-round beating in the UFC than Max Holloway inflicted upon Calvin Kattar? Scott and Dan discuss that, the fallout from the fight, plus a pair of split decisions on the prelims — one of which saw split scores in all three rounds.
A day before the UFC returns to Fight Island, LFA is back in Kansas for the return of open scoring after its 2020 debut. Scott and Dan dish on why the innovation is great for fighters — irrespective of MMA judging — and how early data in Kansas’ experiment could indicate the biggest critiques about passive final rounds are unfounded.
The UFC light heavyweight title victory for the original Ultimate Fighter is a classic that Scott and Dan were delighted to rewatch, and you should too before you listen to this Past Judgment-fueled edition of The Couchside Judges.
Scott has built a still-growing database of scored UFC rounds and wanted to share some observations from the data, so he and Dan discuss what some of that means for MMA judging. Don’t worry, it’s not just a bunch of numbers being lobbed at you the whole time.
Scott and Dan do not like MMA’s dirty little ‘R’ word — robbery — but is Sanchez’s infamous victory over Pearson an exception? The CSJ discuss one of the most maligned scorecards in modern UFC history.
The Judges are joined by veteran MMA writer E. Spencer Kyte, who penned a thoughtful reflection on the year in judging for his Keyboard Kimura Newsletter, to discuss a subject he shares a passion for with Scott and Dan.
By most measures, this year sucked. But at least there was some fantastic fistic and kickic (is that a thing?) action in the MMA space. In that spirit, Scott and Dan hand out their own meaningless end-of-year honors and distinctions to officials, fighters and more, with a heavy focus on UFC action. Welcome to the inaugural Judgies!
The Couchside Judges are gifting you listeners a treat of a Past Judgment with the fight that vaulted MMA into the mainstream. Would Scott and Dan's adjusted scoring criteria create a different result to Griffin-Bonnar I? Give it a listen this Christmas.
Wonderboy’s clear decision victory over first-time UFC headliner Neal was drama free, as were most of the scorecards on a strong night for the judges in Las Vegas. Scott and Dan just had a few rounds to discuss, including one split 10-8/10-9 that left the CSJ puzzled.
Scott and Dan miss WEC, which held its final even 10 years ago this week. But the CSJ remember the blue cage and lighter fighters fondly, and the decided to put the final WEC bout through Past Judgment and relive a classic fight — plus the birth of the iconic Showtime Kick.
A Fight of the Year contender headlined 2020’s final UFC pay-per-view, going down as a draw thanks to a justified point deduction for a foul. But should Figueiredo, who retained his flyweight title, earned the win despite losing a point? Scott and Dan give their take.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza won’t be headlining UFC 256 this Saturday, but his scheduled main-card tilt against Kevin Holland gives Scott and Dan reason to revisit a pair of close split decision losses that prevented the Brazlian middleweight standout from ever securing a UFC title shot. Does he have a case to win either fight? The CSJ discuss those fights and more.
The headliners treated us to a fantastic — and well-judged — middleweight clash, which Marvin Vettori convincingly won. But Scott and Dan have much more to say about the Roman Dolidze vs. John Allan split decision. The CSJ have plenty of thoughts about the dissenting judge but aim to take a measured, data-driven approach with their critique.
With Marvin Vettori stepping into this coming Saturday’s headliner at UFC Apex against Jack Hermansson, Scott and Dan decided to look back at the Italian’s split decision loss to Israel Adesanya early in the middleweight champ’s career. Was a split warranted? The CSJ team debates.
Welp, it wasn’t the main event Scott and Dan discussed for Friday’s show — thanks again, COVID-19 — but at least the event as a whole at UFC Apex on Saturday featured some solid judging and, best of all, plenty of finishes. The CSJ break down the few contested rounds, as well as reminisce about Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. after their boxing exhibition Saturday.
Even in a year as terrible as 2020, Scott and Dan have plenty to be thankful for. That includes awesome fights, like the 2020 WEC classic brawl between Leonard Garcia and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, which the CSJ have selected for Past Judgment.
Both the men’s and women’s flyweight champions, Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentina Shevchenko, respectively, kept their championships on Saturday at UFC Apex. No controversy there, but there were enough split rounds — including in a unanimous decision Scott and Dan thought could have gone the other way — to break down on the latest from the CSJ duo.
Scott and Dan love it when they get to look back at an all-timer like Shogun-Hendo 1 — and tie it into the upcoming UFC event, to boot. So, with Mauricio Rua facing Paul Craig on Saturday at UFC 255 in a rematch of their draw almost exactly a year ago, The CSJ figured they might as well treat themselves to a wild five-round classic from these all-time great light heavyweights.
It’s not every day that one judge sees three out of five rounds different than his peers, but that was the case in Rafael dos Anjos’ split decision victory over Paul Felder at UFC Apex. Scott and Dan break down those three rounds to identify how valid a case can be made for Felder to win any of them.
Nobody knew Paul Felder would be in action this weekend when last the CSJ recorded. Now, The Irish Dragon returns to the cage nine months after a semi-retirement, following a war with Dan Hooker, to face Rafael dos Anjos in Saturday’s UFC Apex headliner. Scott and Dan figured now was the right time to revisit the Felder-Hooker split decision for Past Judgment.
A wild main event between elite Brazilian light heavyweights didn’t need the judges to decide a winner, but Scott and Dan have strong thoughts on whether winner Glover Teixeira deserves a title shot right. And, while there weren’t many decisions, the CSJ break down a unanimous decision in the co-main event that wasn’t as unanimous as it seems.
With Marreta back in action this coming Saturday against Glover Teixeira for the first time since going the distance against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Scott and Dan look back at his 2019 bout that was a surprisingly competitive split decision. CSJ also examines this weekend’s main event.
Anderson Silva’s UFC career appears to be over after a fourth-round TKO loss to Uriah Hall on Saturday. Scott and Dan discuss where that leaves The Spider, as well as break down the few contested rounds during an event that featured eight finishes and only three decisions.
When it comes to reporting on the state of judging and regulation in MMA, Marc Raimondi is in a class of his own. That’s why Scott and Dan were thrilled to have him stop by and talk about his pre-UFC 254 judging feature that broke down the misconceptions many have with scoring in the sport.
MMA has its first retired, unbeaten legend after Khabib Nurmagomedov choked out Justin Gaethje and, moments later, left his gloves in the octagon. Scott and Dan offer their take on where the lightweight division goes from here, and they break down some split rounds and decisions from one of the best events of 2020.
With a major fight at UFC 254 this coming Saturday between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim title holder Justin Gaethje, Scott and Dan decided to look back at Khabib’s three title fights against Al Iaquinta, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier for Past Judgment, exploring just how dominant he has been over the past 2.5 years.
Brian Ortega has never looked better than he did over five rounds against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung on Saturday. Dan and Scott look ahead to Ortega's expected title shot and examine the few contested rounds from earlier on the event, plus some thoughts on Teofimo Lopez's boxing upset over Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
“The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung returns to action this Saturday, but before he does, Scott and Dan looked back on his legendary fight against Yair Rodriguez. In a first, The Couchside Judges are revisiting the scoring from a fight that ended in a finish. Listen and see why.
Saturday night saw Cory Sandhagen re-enter the bantamweight title picture with a KO victory over Marlon Moraes. Dan and Scott will discuss the 135 pound title picture, some contested rounds - one in particular that had Dan all fired up, and of course the craziest knockout of the year, possibly of all time!
When Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen lock horns this Saturday at UFC Fight Island, Scott and Dan expect a terrific headliner. So in our pre-event episode, The Couchside Judges revisited close split decisions featuring both men to resolve who deserved the victories.
Holly Holm crushed it in her headlining decision victory over Irene Aldana in Abu Dhabi. Scott and Dan discuss the impact of her victory on the women’s 135-pound class. The CSJ team also breaks down a rare split draw on the undercard, between Charles Jourdain and Josh Culibao.
Carlos Condit may be buried on the Fight Island prelims this coming Saturday, but his incredible fight against Robbie Lawler in 2016 is the focal point for Scott and Dan. The CSJ crew rescore it with their patented system to see if the result, a split decision for Lawler, would stand.
Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz leave Fight Island as champions, and they didn’t need the judges’ input either. But, Scott and Dan made sure to break down a main card split decision with scores all over the map, which was surprisingly OK in their eyes.
The middleweights are on Scott and Dan’s minds ahead of UFC 253, when Israel Adesanya puts his belt up for grabs against Paulo Costa. With that in mind, CSJ revisits the fight that earned Borrachinha his title shot: a close decision victory over Yoel Romero in 2019.
Colby Covington, for the first time in awhile, didn’t need the judges to pick a winner against Tyron Woodley. But, with two split decisions and a majority draw in 14 bouts, Scott and Dan will break down if those went the right way.
Chris Rini sees mixed martial arts through a different lens than most, so he lent his perspective and his art to “The Fine Art of Violence: Vol. 1.” Scott and Dan chat with the Bloody Elbow contributor about his illustrations and his unique path to fighting fandom.
Three major fight cards over two days kept Scott and Dan busy over the weekend, but The Couchside Judges live for this. The guys dive into Michelle Waterson’s split decision win over Angela Hill to talk out why all three judges’ varied scorecards are understandable.
UFC and Bellator will produce three events between the two of them this weekend, so Scott and Dan selected close fights between headliners for each promotion to dissect. That includes Bellator headliner Lyoto Machida’s controversial 2009 win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. With feedback from an actual judge about how the fight would have been scored by today’s standards, the Couchside Judges break down the divisive decision.
An unusually brief UFC Fight Night didn’t give Scott and Dan many rounds to break down. Just a little bit on Alistair Overeem’s fifth-round TKO of Augusto Sakai, plus a look back at the heavily scrutinized 2013 fight between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis.
Jon Anik, owner of one of the most recognizable voices in mixed martial arts, took some time out of preparation for Saturday’s latest event from UFC Apex to chat with Scott and Dan about his career, as well as offer his unique perspective on judging in the sport.
With near universal agreement from the judges assigned to the latest event at UFC Apex, Scott and Dan had enough time to revisit the closely contested Jon Jones win over Dominick Reyes from earlier in 2020 and re-score it.
Few better resources exist for The Couchside Judges than MMADecisions.com, so Scott and Dan welcomed the site’s creator to talk about how it came to be and what could be coming in the future.
Frankie Edgar’s triumphant debut at bantamweight was a closely contested split decision, one which Scott and Dan thought could reasonably have gone Pedro Munhoz’s way. The Couchside Judges break down several close rounds from the headliner.
Strap in for an enlightening conversation with one of the most respected judges in MMA. Ben Cartlidge, who fans may remember from working some of the biggest bouts at UFC Fight Island, drops knowledge on Scott and Dan about what it’s like to be a judge and how he got his start.
The three-year rivalry between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier ends with Miocic winning their heavyweight title trilogy. But, once again, eye pokes reared their ugly head in their showdown. Scott and Dan break down the controversy as well as the rest of the UFC 252 action.
UFC bantamweight Cody Durden takes Scott and Dan through his recent, historic unanimous draw with Chris Gutierrez, while the hosts provide Cody a veteran judge’s rationale behind why his round was a 10-8 and his opponents’ were only 10-9s.
After a busy weekend of fights, Scott and Dan weigh in on the UFC Apex 6 and Bellator 243 action that featured huge KOs in the headliners, 10-8 rounds galore and, in one case, opposing 30-27 scores.
Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson fought a fantastic fight in 2016, with both men making a strong case to win. Scott and Dan revisit that Bellator main event before they rematch Friday at Bellator 243.
With such clean judging at Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas, Scott and Dan put the focus on evaluating the referee’s stoppage in Derek Brunson’s TKO of Edmen Shahbazyan.
Ahead of a three-round main event between Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan, Scott and Dan look back at Silva-Brunson as well as Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson for Past Judgment.
Even with a whopping 15 fights on the docket in Abu Dhabi, the judges handled the load with aplomb. That doesn’t mean Scott and Dan always saw eye-to-eye with the pros.
Scott and Dan welcome veteran referee Kevin MacDonald, who shares some great stories from the early No Holds Barred days as well as insights into the art of officiating fights in modern MMA.
Has there ever been as lopsided a UFC championship fight as Deiveson Figueiredo’s flyweight coronation at Fight Island? Scott and Dan discuss his big win and the future of the 125-pound division.
A midweek event at UFC’s Fight Island produced a fun main event, a bunch of finishes on the prelims, and the rarest of sights in MMA: a 10-7 round. Scott and Dan weigh in on a uniquely one-sided beatdown.
Fight Island’s debut was full of fights that went the distance, including two of three title fights. But Alexander Volkanovski’s win over Max Holloway caused the biggest uproar among the masses. Was it a robbery? Scott and Dan break that fight down, with the benefit of a second viewing.
Ahead of the debut of Fight Island at UFC 251, Scott and Dan look back at a pair of fights featuring the weekend’s title challengers: Jorge Masvidal and Jose Aldo.
With no live fights on the Fourth of July, Scott and Dan revisit a pair of controversial decisions from the past: Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks and Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill.
On invitation from the Kansas Athletic Commission, Scott and Dan remotely shadowed the judges at Invicta FC 40 and observed the post-mortem. Listen to the Couchside Judges give you a window into the process.
Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker closed out the opening run of events at UFC Apex in violent fashion. Scott and Dan break down the Fight of the Year contender between top lightweights.
Record-setting UFC lightweight Jim Miller, fresh off a victory over Roosevelt Roberts, stopped by with Scott and Dan to talk about the win, his career, an in-depth look into his battle with Lyme disease, and his thoughts on MMA judging.
Curtis Blaydes definitely deserved the win over Alexander Volkov — lackluster as it may have been — but did he win all five rounds? The judges didn’t think so. Scott and Dan will explain why.
Think MMA needs open scoring? Maybe you think it’s a dumb idea. Either way, listen to Adam Roorbach of the Kansas Athletic Commission break down his state’s innovative real-time scoring setup.
A surprisingly entertaining Fight Night event featured a pair of close split decisions. Did the judges get it right? Scott and Dan weigh in on them, as well as a few scored 10-8 rounds.
Longtime referee and judge Rob Hinds returns to clear up misconceptions about judging a fight, weigh in on open scoring, and offer a surprising reaction to unflattering results from The Athletic’s fighter survey.
Amanda Nunes thoroughly dominated featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer on a night where the judges were on point. But did their scores reflect the degree of domination from the Lioness? Scott and Dan discuss.
With Amanda Nunes set to defend her featherweight title at UFC 250, Scott and Dan rescore the Lioness’ 2017 rematch against Valentina Shevchenko, which was about as close as it gets.
Gilbert Burns crushed Tyron Woodley for five rounds on a night marked by fun finishes and impeccable judging at the UFC’s first non-Contender Series event at its state-of-the-art facility.
Tyron Woodley returns to the octagon Saturday for the first time since Kamaru Usman took his title in dominant fashion. How dominant was it? Scott and Dan apply their scoring system to see.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Demetrious Johnson are modern MMA greats, but both reached the peak thanks to some debatable decision wins early in their UFC careers. Scott and Dan spotlight those fights in Past Judgment.
Longtime MMA referee and judge Rob Hinds joins Scott and Dan to assess close fights from the three UFC events in Jacksonville, as well as clear up some judging misconceptions.
Robbery in Jacksonville?! Sure, Dan and Scott saw much of the action differently than the judges, but many fights were closer than some think. The Couchside Judges dissect the decisions.
Scott’s fuming about the extra punishment Anthony Smith endured at the hands of Glover Teixiera, and Dan vents about the lack of 10-7 scores given by judges in MMA.
A terrific pay-per-view event heralded the return of live sports, with Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo the big winners. Scott and Dan break down how even the judging in Jacksonville was on point.
Dominick Cruz looks to become UFC bantamweight champ for the third time at UFC 249 on Saturday, so we went back to his the last time he regained the crown, against T.J. Dillashaw in 2016, for Past Judgment.
The final fight of Demetrious Johnson’s long UFC flyweight reign, when Henry Cejudo edged a split decision, reveals flaws in the current MMA judging criteria. Scott and Dan take it through the CSJ system to offer a better way.
Nick Diaz was...displeased with the judges’ call in his 2012 loss to Carlos Condit. Was it the right decision? And can the Couchside Judges’ system better decide the winner? Let’s see.
Benson Henderson welcomed Gilbert Melendez to the octagon in 2013, pitting the UFC lightweight champ against Strikeforce’s 155-pound king. Scott and Dan rescore that fight using CSJ criteria.
Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar twice waged cage war in 2012 with UFC lightweight gold on the line. Bendo won both … or did he? The Couchside Judges revisit and rescore the fights.
Back in 2011, The Answer and The Bully fought to a draw in one the greatest fights in MMA history. Will Scott & Dan crown a winner using their trademark judging format?
Live fights are on indefinite hiatus, so CSJ triples down on Past Judgment featuring Penn vs. Pulver I, Penn vs. Uno II, and Penn vs. St. Pierre I. Plus, Dan breaks down his COVID-19 battle.
Somehow, the UFC staged a show in an empty arena in Brasilia during a global pandemic, headlined by Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira, so CSJ has reactions to the judging and the outbreak’s effect on the fight game.
Two title fights — one amazing fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the other one disappointing between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero — needed the judges' input. CSJ breaks down both and weighs in on the debut of open scoring at an Invicta FC event.
Virginia officials draw the ire of Scott & Dan at an event marred by weight misses and an egregious early stoppage, but also featuring some fun finishes.
Dan Hooker and Paul Felder fought their hearts out in New Zealand. The Couchside Judges have their thoughts on who really won this thriller.
Jan Blachowicz blasted Corey Anderson in Round 1, so no judges needed there. But what’s up with the lack of 10-8 scores in New Mexico?
Jon Jones outpointed Dominick Reyes in Houston, but should he have? CSJ breaks down the fight and has some beef with Texas’ athletic commission.