UFC 75: Have we killed the horse yet?
Steve Cofield of Fox Sports Radio in Las Vegas invited me on his show yesterday to discuss my "Hamill was robbed" blog entries from earlier this week. I knew beforehand that he disagreed with my verdict on the fight, but this was a good opportunity to engage in some friendly debate and discuss the bigger picture issues that came out of that fight.
Take a listen here and enjoy!
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I wanted to tie up the loose ends in the Hamill-Bisping controversy before I move on in my future blog entries (no, the world of MMA did not stop turning while this decision took center stage.)
I think I can sum up reader sentiment with the following points:
1) Fans definitely want a rematch between Hamill and Bisping and UFC President Dana White has already promised there will be one.
2) Based on all the conspiracy theories thrown out there by readers, I think White would be wise to put the Hamill-Bisping rematch on Spike TV. Otherwise, feelings that this whole controversy was created for financial reasons will take even stronger hold.
3) Fans want White to say he thinks the decision was wrong. I'm not saying he should say that, but I get the feeling from the comments that they would at least feel that he has heard their grievances if he acknowledges their pain.
4) MMA has to take a long, deep look at the way fights are scored.
And, that's all on this topic ... for now ...
Comments
I knew that this would cause an uproar, but this much of an uproar? Controversial scoring always seems to get people upset, but I've never seen it like this (then again that's probably because it's never really been in anyone's hometown where the hometown boy wins).
Dana White has said before that if you want to win, don't let it go to the judges (I know he's said it before on TUF), but why has it exploded to this extent? It can't just be because of the hometown boy, I mean that's a factor, but that can't be it.
I do think they need to look at the way fights are scored, or start training judges better or something, but where should they begin/what should they change?
And I do agree the rematch needs to be on Spike TV. That'll probably happen the next time they go over there and Spike airs it on a tape delay since it seems like Bisping doesn't fight anywhere else but there now, which I also think is a bit unfair since he has a little bit of an advantage each time with the crowd on his side (might not be much, but it seemed to be something in this past fight with the judges). They need to find a way to make it more fair since it doesn't seem right that Bisping fights at home each fight now.
Posted by: Sean C. | September 12, 2007 9:24 PM
I can't believe how much attention this fight has gotten in the mainstream media. I thought this fight was a lot closer than people think. 29-28 hamill makes sense but round 2 could have been either way. I have seen worse decisions and if these fighters weren't mid-card fighters at best maybe I would care more.
Posted by: matt | September 12, 2007 10:05 PM
I just watched the Bisping vs Hamill over again.
I noticed Bisping celebrating a split second before the decision was announced.
Adding to this is the fact that Hamill refrained from really using his wrestling skills. I'm pretty sure any decent wrestler would have no trouble taking down a person who is constantly crossing their feet and hopping around.
It's looking more and more like the fight has been fixed. At the minimum it's poor judging.
So far Mr. White doesn't care, since the controversy is good for his organization. Maybe it's time that he feels it as well as the fans?
I think maybe the fans should boycott the next UFC event to express their disappointment.
Posted by: WavyGravy | September 13, 2007 4:21 AM