As the UFC rolls into Sydney for this weekend’s event at the Allphones Arena, we focus on the creation of a new weight class for the promotion. And for four fighters, this weekend gives them a chance to get one step closer to a championship belt.
The Flyweights are classified as those who are less than 125 lb (57 kg) and for the inaugural tournament we see two current UFC fighters, Demetrious Johnson (14-2) and Joseph Benavidez (15-2); and two fighters who are new to the promotion, Ian McCall (11-2) and Yasuihiro Urushitani (19-4-6); battle it out to face each other in a finale to be announced at a later date.
Given the importance of this weekend’s bouts, the UFC isn’t letting this one get to a draw, with Johnson mentioning to Tapout Radio late last week about the possibility of a sudden death round in the event that all three judges are unable to decide a winner within the standard three rounds.
Usually it is only main event and championship fights that are an exception to the three-round rule, stretching out to five rounds.
For a sport where the constant debate on the close decisions the judges deliver this could prove to be interesting. If a fight is too close for a sudden death round to come into effect how much faith do the fans have in the judges to make such an instrumental decision?
We may see the judges looking to come to decisions by making clear, definite winners of each round. This, however, could also increase the possibility of making a rash decision that could conflict what everyone else sees, and raises questions about scoring against the range of skills MMA fighters hold.
How much emphasis will be placed on a takedown late in the game to a flurry that occurs at the beginning of the round?
From past experience, the reactions from the MMA community when the judges seem to “get it wrong” range from widespread outcry to a need for an immediate explanation for the decision.
At times UFC president Dana White has publicly disagreed with the judges decision via Twitter and even awarded win bonuses to those fighters who he thinks had been robbed of a win.
For those new to the sport, judges are provided by each commission and are external to the promotion that is holding the event. The promotion does not have any influence on any decision made by the judges during an event.
Alternatively, we may see judges becoming more educated within the sport, as a greater understanding leads to better perception within the fight. This will also be expected as the sport continues to grow globally and become more mainstream.
The other question is whether the creation of a sudden death round sets a precedence for future important MMA bouts including those to determine who is next in line for a title contention fight.
In some cases, if implemented earlier, this might have changed the direction of fighter’s careers, in one case we may have seen a different result in the B.J Penn (16-8-2) versus Jon Fitch (23-4-1 (1 NC)) fight held at UFC 127, February 2011.
After this fight both fighters sat out of the spotlight for half a year until Penn advanced to what has now been recognised as the number one contender bout for the interim welterweight belt, losing against ex-Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz (26-8 !1 NC)).
Jon Fitch was unfortunately knocked out in his next fight against Johnny Hendricks (12-1) in December 2011 and fell down the contender rankings.
This time in Sydney, even with the option of the sudden death round in the flyweight division, fireworks are guaranteed for their UFC debut.
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