The Couchside Judges MMA Podcast

One of the deepest cards in UFC history came and went a full five weeks before the milestone UFC 300 threatens to top it. Fortunately for everyone, UFC 299 came and went without much in the way of judging uproar ... but just enough Contested Rounds for Scott and Dan to sink their teeth into. The officials were mostly on the money, but a split decision in the curtain jerker and an 8/9 split to cap Sean O'Malley's impressive decision win in his rematch with Marlon Vera bookended the night. Please allow the CSJ to dig into those scores for your edutainment.

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Heavyweights .... why did it have to be heavyweights? Scott and Dan ask themselves versions of this question every time there's a non-title heavyweight headliner. Happened both before and after the latest obligatory UFC Apex-staged event, when Jairzinho Rozenstruik fought blandly for four rounds before a merciful stoppage after the fourth — but not before the judges were split on a pair of those rounds. Ugh!

Good news: The CSJ had a heaping helping of that sweet, sweet 10-8 vs. 10-9 debate to discuss on this week's episode, once they were done griping over those bothersome bigguns.

No time for Scott and Dan's shenanigans this week with 16 — SIXTEEN! — Contested Rounds coming from the first two-event weekend of the major MMA calendar for 2024. Most of that came from Mexico City, where just about every fight from the night's UFC event had something to revisit on CSJ. Buckle in for five split decisions across two continents, including the rare alternative decision.

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The UFC champions list officially had turned over in full in just 18 months, now that Ilia Topuria usurped Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. A smattering of Contested Rounds preceded the main event, and Scott and Dan have some debate about a few particularly intriguing rounds, as well as a disparate split decision from Ian Machado Garry's win over Geoff Neal.

Another week of warehouse fights with UFC branding on them means, yep, Scott and Dan will sift through those Contested Rounds they can't get enough of. Two split decisions and a deceptive, unanimous 29-28 make up the bulk of this week's judging analysis.

Much more intriguing is a very unique development for Dan: A Couchside Judge served as real, in-the-flesh shadow judge over the weekend at Cage Fury FC in Pennsylvania. Dan The Man has plenty to share about the revelatory experience, so tune in for that ... even if generic UFC content doesn't tickle your fancy.

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A big week outside the cage — and a smaller one inside it — dominate the discussion this week. Scott and Dan break down what the two rules passed this week in committee would mean if enacted at the ABC conference this summer. One of those directly leads into the latest generic UFC Vegas main event, which incidentally gave us three of this weekend's four Contested Rounds. 

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A quiet week for the Couchside Judges stuffed between UFC 297 and the next never-ending string of UFC events opened the door for the hosts to give an old Past Judgment a second chance. For this week's Appeal Edition, Scott and Dan went back to the first fight between Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson — the good one, not the stinker of a rematch. Would the more liberal CSJ system's application of 10-8s and 10-7s open the door for the majority draw to yield a clear winner? Watch the fight for yourself on Fight Pass, and listen for our thoughts.

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UFC 297 featured a treasure trove of fascinating judging situations. You got a 10-7(!), an alternative decision, the rare unanimous 29-28 that's not exactly unanimous, a fight in which the judges were split on every round, and even some adventures in refereeing. Scott and Dan have a whole heck of a lot to sift through from the UFC's return to Toronto, so stick around for all of it.

This episode ends on a somber note as the hosts pay tribute to longtime NJ/NY judge Donnie Carolei, who recently passed away.

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Thanks in part to a high concentration of the most high-volume judges, the UFC's 2024 debut got off to a smooth start in terms of scoring. Even the many stoppages were clean from the referees. But no perfect night at UFC Apex gave Scott and Dan a couple Contested Rounds to wade into the new year. Plus, word of a 10-8 training session with the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave the CSJ reason to revisit a few lopsided rounds from the end of 2023.

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The One With All The Data is back! For the fourth time, Scott (mostly) and Dan dig into some real MMA math and explore judging trends from 2023. And with an expanded (near-complete) database of UFC round scores dating all the way back to the start of 2017, the hosts discuss what thousands upon thousands of rounds tell us about the scoring of fights and the men and women who assess them.