Want to know the secrets of mixed martial arts?
Most people involved in the sport, from fighters and coaches to fans, reporters, commentators and analysts, only know half of what the judges who decide the winner of a bout are looking for.
That’s why Lauren Murphy decided to take a weekend in mid-May to take part. Wow — The two-day seminar on MMA refereeing and judging is better than I expected.
As far as I know, she once challenged for the UFC women’s flyweight title and is the only active fighter in the UFC roster to have accomplished this.
Murphy, who spoke to The Post via video call shortly after attending a seminar hosted by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation aimed primarily at current and aspiring fighters, had no idea how unusual such training would be for active fighters. But the short distance between her home in Houston and the seminar site in Austin (about two and a half hours on Texas highways) made it possible for her to attend. Plus, she came up with a pretty good reason for attending.
“I think it’s important to know the rules of the sport you play,” Murphy said frankly, offering a thought that may have served the 49ers well before their overtime loss in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
As it happens, in just one week, Murphy gained some useful knowledge that a 22-bout professional mixed martial arts career eluded him – specifically, insight into the mindset of a referee.
Generally, fighters understand most of the rules: no biting, no grabbing the cage, stop when the referee tells you to, etc.
Do I judge the match in the same way that an umpire does? That’s a whole different story.
For decades, UFC fights have drilled viewers at the start of the broadcast with how the referees would score bouts, or rather, an oversimplified scoring methodology. When Murphy made his pro debut in 2010, an on-screen graphic titled “Octagon Regulations” informed them that rounds would be scored based on “effective striking, grappling, aggressiveness and Octagon control.” In recent years, lead play-by-play announcer Jon Anik (who claims to have a copy of the scoring standards on hand) has insisted on clarifying that scoring would be based on “effective striking and grappling, followed by aggressiveness and then Octagon control.”
Anik’s adjustments better communicate that “effective striking and grappling” are equal and the primary criteria than has been the case for many years, with aggression being secondary and control of the octagon being tertiary.
While it is true that the three criteria can be used for evaluation if necessary, what most people fail to realize is that the judges who most frequently judge UFC events, such as Sal D’Amato, Mike Bell, and Chris Lee, essentially never look beyond the first level. Once a round goes to the horn, 99.999% of the time the round is won or lost on “effective striking and grappling.”
That became apparent to me through conversations with current officials over the years, and also when I passed the Refereeing and Judging Course I attended at the 2022 Association of Boxing Officials Annual Conference in Niagara, New York.
This was clearly demonstrated at Mr. Murphy’s seminar.
“Cage control is [criterion]that’s why they think it’s so big [criterion]”Not true,” Murphy says with a chuckle, “…the fighter who’s doing the most damage is probably The one who is winning.”
There’s more to it than that, but these are the gist. The rest can be learned by taking courses taught by veteran judges like Kevin McDonald and D’Amato, who have worked together to teach the judging course at Niagara. Take a few minutes and pay close attention. 3. Read a 5-page document Materials outlining the marking criteria will be useful to most people. Helpful video tutorials If reading isn’t your thing (but if you’ve gotten this far it means you do), then you should ask Sean Sheehan, judge of the Severe MMA Podcast.
UFC’s broadcast team has a mixed bag of knowledge when it comes to MMA scoring. Commentator Laura Sanko has passed a refereeing course and is the team’s foremost authority on refereeing know-how. Murphy noted that Sanko’s proficiency was highlighted during the course. Anik and play-by-play announcer John Gooden have shown a willingness to explain the scoring criteria to viewers precisely, providing balance to their colleagues on the other side.
Judgement course. Zuffa LLC
Oh, and on the other end of the spectrum? “One announcer’s name came up time and time again as being wrong in every way,” Murphy said. He declined to be named.
You guessed right. His initials are DC, the initials of Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz. Both fighters regularly offer completely off-base opinions on why certain fighters are winning rounds, which is surprising considering they are both former champions (in Cruz’s case, all four of his UFC championship victories came by scorecards) and legends of the sport. Even in a seminar organized specially for the UFC broadcast team by several executives, they were misinformed, sounding as if they were only half-listening or seeking justification for their own biases.
While it’s crucial for broadcasters to accurately communicate to the public how the scoring works, Murphy’s biggest takeaway from his experience was how important the course is to coaches.
“Every coach should take this course,” Murphy, who trains young fighters, emphasized multiple times throughout our conversation, “so they know how to better coach both the amateurs in their own gym and the up-and-coming pros.”
That’s good news for fans looking for judges who have competed before. There are some familiar names that fit the bill, including New Jersey-based Eric Colon and Dave Tirelli. Murphy is now toying with the idea of becoming a judge herself. Typically, judges start their journey by shadowing a current judge at an event, and she’s committed to it.
“I’d love to do that, and hopefully I’d like to do it for a year straight,” Murphy said, “and hopefully I’d like to work with different judges and do well.”
The 2024 ABC Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, will again offer the event’s staple judge and umpire training course, drawing hundreds of current and aspiring umpires to the Galt House Hotel, steps from the Muhammad Ali Center, on Saturday and Sunday.
Murphy had expressed an interest in attending to further the knowledge she’d gained from veteran referee Blake Grice, who taught the refereeing course I took two years ago. She and her husband, Joe, who doubles as Renzo Gracie Pearlando’s lead instructor and competes as a high-level submission grappler himself, had a busy July and canceled the trip. (“Maybe next year,” she says.)
Murphy, who turns 41 later this month, plans to retire from combat sports by the 2025 conference and has one more fight this year before retiring with one fight remaining under her UFC contract. She’s no longer an active fighter, but if any man, woman or coach wants to beat their competition, they’d do well to follow her lead and learn the “fucking rules.”
