Texas commission responds to Joe Rogan and judging uproar at UFC 247

The Texas athletic commission has released a statement following major backlash spawning from last weekend’s UFC 247 event in Houston.

The commission and those judging the fights were put on blast by longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan following the conclusion of Saturday night’s event. In addition, many fans and analysts voiced their displeasure with the judges scoring on social media.

Rogan went as far as to call one of the judges scoring the UFC 247 “insane”, this after they had scored the event headliner 49-46 in favor of ‘Bones’.

Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram (photographer not listed)

Dominick Reyes challenged the undisputed champion, Jon Jones, for the 205-pound title during last weekend’s main event. The striking arsenal and constant pressure of ‘The Devastator’ had many believing he had won. However, the judges concluded a clean sweep in favor of Jones. The final scorecards ruled 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 for “Bones” Jones.

Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez and Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy also caused a stir of controversy over the final rulings. Even UFC president Dana White was critical of the judges scoring for the UFC 247 event.

This week, the Texas Department of Licensure and Regulation, responsible for regulating the event, responded to Joe Rogan and the judging uproar (via MMA Junkie):

“As in all athletic events, athletes, teams, judges, fans and media representatives can – and often do – have differing opinions about what happened in a combative sports match,” commission spokesperson Tela Mange said.

“TDLR applauds the passion everyone is exhibiting about this sport. Comments have been made about the selection of the judges and the referees. In selecting ringside officials, TDLR takes into consideration recommendations made by UFC. As with all events, TDLR works closely with UFC and other promoters to ensure the quality and experience of referees and judges to protect the health and safety of the fighters.”

MMA expert Joe Rogan spearheaded criticism of the judges during UFC 247. During the Murphy vs Lee bout on the preliminary card, Rogan claimed one of the judges was looking at the floor instead of watching the fight. Play-by-play man Jon Anik and MMA analyst Dominick Cruz shared the same criticisms. The Texas department responded to claims made by Joe Rogan:

“Claims have been made that a judge was not paying attention to the fight and was looking down at the floor,” said Mange.

“One of the advances that UFC has made in the past several years has been to provide small video monitors below the floor level of the octagon for each judge to more closely monitor matches.”

What do you make of the TDLR’s official statement in response to fan backlash and UFC commentator Joe Rogan? Make sure to write your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned on BJPENN.com for all fight news.