Welcome back to the Couchside Doctors ... er, Judges.

Yeah, Scott and Dan had to address the shenanigans from UFC 294 that led to two no contests, as well as another fight that featured plenty of field, about as many warnings to various degrees, and no punitive measures. 

Oh, and we find time to go over the two Contested Rounds in Khamzat Chimaev's victory over Kamaru Usman, plus a deep discussion of the unanimous 10-8 in that fight's first round. Enjoy, fellow judging nerds!

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A day late and a dollar short, but the CSJ are back, and this time, Scott doesn't sound like death.

Edson Barboza picked up a thrilling, comeback victory over Sodiq Yusuff, one the featured a 10-8/9 split and another one Scott thought was worth considering as such. He and Dan break down those rounds and more from the UFC Apex card.

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Just one Contested Round each from a Saturday doubleheader of UFC and Bellator (main card), but those weren't even what set off the social media scoring discussion. That being the case, Scott (with a balky voice bouncing back from a cold) and Dan put that Uncontested Round from Vanessa Demopoulos' win over Kanako Murata under the microscope as well.

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Want to improve MMA judging? It starts with improving the scoring criteria.

Scott and Dan are quick to point out the issues with the document judges work from to score fights, but on a week without major North American MMA shows, the CSJ devoted a full episode to the topic of how to upgrade the criteria.

Special guest and fellow MMA judging aficionado Sean Sheehan of Severe MMA & Sherdog joins in on the discussion of what could work, what already does work, and what won't work when it comes to the criteria.

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Welcome to the Nevada judging pool, Judge Crippler.

Chris Leben made his Las Vegas debut as a judge at UFC Vegas 79, and he wasted no time finding his way into a split decision. But not all splits are the same, so Scott and Dan put that fight — Montserrat Rendon vs. Tamires Vidal — under the Contested Rounds microscope alongside seven others from UFC.

CSJ also takes a look at the two rounds of Johnny Eblen's middleweight title defense against Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299 after the champion lost a round for the first time in his career ... before securing a finish.

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Are you a fan of 10-8 discussions? Are you a MMA judging geek? The answers to those questions go hand in hand, and all who say yes are in for a treat after a Noche UFC card that gifted us nerds five (5!) 10-8/10-9 splits.

Three of them came in the prelim opener, but the final one of the night in Las Vegas was perhaps the most pivotal 8/9 split in UFC history, with the scoring of the fifth round of Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 being the difference between a winner and a split draw.

Scott and Dan have a ton of thoughts on 10-8s in today's MMA, especially as it pertains to this fight, so get comfy and listen, our fellow scoring dorks.

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Have Sean Strickland winning a clear unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya on your bingo card? Liar!

Not even the judges disagreed on any of the five rounds of the middleweight title fight. And a casual glance at the results from the 12-bout lineup indicates very little scoring disagreement. But a look at the scorecards reveals a pair of fights that each had one judge out of step on two rounds from his peers, so Scott and Dan dutifully dive in to see how the officials in Australia scored the action.

France hasn't hosted a heckuva lot of events from major promotions since it opened its (cage) doors to professional MMA, but we're getting a feel for what to expect from the judging for such shows: Trustworthy scores from the veteran UK/European officials and the odd nonsensical headscratcher from the locals.

That's certainly how the UFC's return to Paris played on Saturday. Scott and Dan had just three rounds to break down, but one of them ... well, let's say CSJ should be revisiting this one again at the end of the year for a worst-of-2023 discussion.

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Chan Sung Jung's career ended as it existed: violently and entertaining as heck. Scott and Dan look to place The Korean Zombie among the most entertaining fighters in UFC history.

He and Max Holloway even left a few presents for the CSJ with a pair of Contested Rounds — one close, one lopsided. Plus, one reviewed rounds not only receives a Couchside Override but had the hosts scratching their heads at why they would even be examining it.

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Sean O'Malley is on top after dethroning Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. And just before that, Zhang Weili and Ian Machado Garry put on 10-8 level beatings for their respective opponents.

Scott, back from vacation, and Dan, who is evidently more committed to CSJ than Scott, have a lot of thoughts on the 8/9 debate in those fights, plus some strong thoughts on a few PFL 8 rounds from a local judge.

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