Sotiropoulos: Decisions Will Be Biased for Years to Come
Sherdog.com Staff Dec 27, 2010
George
Sotiropoulos, on “The
Savage Dog Show,” discussing the state of judging in
MMA:
“It’s horrific. You find out the decision, and all sorts of thoughts are going through your head. You don’t know how they scored it, whether it’s biased, a combination of both, and anybody can fall victim to it. … But the reality is, how do you get competent judges who clearly know what jiu-jitsu is, who clearly know what wrestling is, who clearly know what boxing is or muay Thai? There’s so many variables and different styles in this sport, you can’t have a judge that came from boxing, for example, or jiu-jitsu, for example. I think the judges need to be competent in all areas, and those judges don’t exist yet because the reality is that the contemporary MMA fighter, they’re the most well-rounded athlete on the planet right now. Those guys aren’t going to be judging events until later in their lives. There’s going to be a time delay from now until then, until referees and [judges] are fully well-rounded. I think you’re going to have biased decisions in judging for years to come.”
“It’s horrific. You find out the decision, and all sorts of thoughts are going through your head. You don’t know how they scored it, whether it’s biased, a combination of both, and anybody can fall victim to it. … But the reality is, how do you get competent judges who clearly know what jiu-jitsu is, who clearly know what wrestling is, who clearly know what boxing is or muay Thai? There’s so many variables and different styles in this sport, you can’t have a judge that came from boxing, for example, or jiu-jitsu, for example. I think the judges need to be competent in all areas, and those judges don’t exist yet because the reality is that the contemporary MMA fighter, they’re the most well-rounded athlete on the planet right now. Those guys aren’t going to be judging events until later in their lives. There’s going to be a time delay from now until then, until referees and [judges] are fully well-rounded. I think you’re going to have biased decisions in judging for years to come.”
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