Israel Adesanya suggests solution to MMA’s judging, scoring problems

Judging is a hot-button issue in MMA of late, and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has a suggestion that he believes could help mitigate the problem.

MMA is scored using the 10 point must system. The winner of each round receives 10 points—unless there’s a point deduction—while the user receives 9 or less. That said, we really see a disparity greater than 10-9. 10-8 rounds are a real rarity. A 10-7 round is unheard of.

Adesanya believes that’s a problem. As he reminds, it’s a 10-point system. So why not use all 10 points?

“F**king use the point system,” Adesanya told James Lynch of theScore. “here are 10 points to use right? If a guy gets worked for f**king five minutes completely and survives, that’s a 10-3. Like, don’t (score it) 10-8 or 10-7. Nah, make that a 10-4 or 10-3. Use the whole spectrum of the judging system. This isn’t boxing or kickboxing or whatever — this is MMA. There’s much more to the fight than being on bottom or being on top or walking forward.”

Adesanya also believes that MMA needs to stop borrowing from boxing when it comes to judges, officials, and even doctors.

“Also like get rid of all these boxing judges and doctors in boxing from these commissions,” he said. “Some of them are really good but a lot of them are useless.”

Israel Adesanya is days out from the first defense of his UFC middleweight title reign. The champ will attempt to thwart the attack of the fearsome Yoel Romero in the main event of UFC 248, which goes down this Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What do you think of his suggestions for MMA’s judging and scoring issues? Let us know in the comments section down below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/4/2020.