Michael Bisping wants MMA judges to be held accountable

How many times do you think Dana White has said the words, “Don’t leave it in the hands of the judges.” The answer is, a lot. During the Ultimate Fighter, during press conferences, in interviews, so on and so on. The phrase has now become essentially an MMA mantra.

The sport has seen its fair share of controversial judging and we’ve heard from lots of fighters, giving their own ideas on how to deal with it. Now UFC middleweight Michael Bisping gives his thoughts,

“Sometimes a fight happens and I look at it and I think clearly this guy won and all the judges will give it to that guy. But one judge will give it to the other guy, maybe 30-27. I think that judge should be pulled to one side at a hearing of some sort and told to explain why he gave it to that guy, break it down round by round. Make him watch the fight and say, why on Earth did you score it for that guy because he clearly lost. So why did you do it? He should be held accountable is what I’m saying. If he can’t back up why he scored it that way then he shouldn’t be a judge anymore.”

Bisping went on, during a Q&A in England, to clarify that he’s not talking about close fights, but simply bad judging,

“Anytime that it’s a close fight, you can’t be bitter about it. The guy did a good job, regardless of who the opponent is, I’m saying, and if the judges felt it went that way, it went that way. You’ve just got to get on with it. There’s no point in crying about it.”

Bisping’s been in a few close decisions him self, including his controversial losses to Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans and Wanderlei Silva. It makes sense that judges should be held accountable and “The Count” may have the answer.