Fans and fighters alike will tell you MMA judging is largely broken ... and the solution? Some say open scoring, while others suggest turning former competitors into judges. What's the right answer? If anyone knows, it's Herb Dean.
TMZ Sports ran into the legendary referee at the airport in Los Angeles earlier this week and asked about open scoring ... which would make judge's scorecards visible to everyone in the arena, and watching at home.
Instead of finding out what the judge's scorecards look like after the bout, we'd all know in real time ... a point some argue would make fights more exciting. In other words, a fighter might've previously thought they were up on the cards, but with open scoring, that same fighter would have the benefit of knowing exactly where they stand, and what they need to do to earn a victory.
So, good idea, right? Not so fast.
"There's always an argument for [open scoring]," Dean said, before suggesting it could potentially be dangerous.
"I think there's things that could be problems with it. One, if the scoring is open, and some places where there's a heavy crowd effect, the crowd could track [the scoring], and that might be a problem."
Herb, who made his UFC debut at UFC 47 in 2004 (UFC 299 is next week!), added ... "Sometimes crowds can get violent over sports. I'm not saying that something is gonna happen, but it's something you might consider."
The longtime ref, who runs a top-notch ref/judging program, also talked about the push to bring retired fighters into the mix after they hang up the gloves ... something Herb's actively doing.
Some of his students include Joe Stevenson, John Romero, and Chris Leben ... three guys who have decided to stick around the sport in a different capacity. And there are others.
Dean, who fought back in the day, does caution simply being a fighter doesn't automatically mean you're a superior judge or ref.
"Just because someone's a fighter doesn't mean they're gonna be a better referee. But the bottom line is if somebody is a fighter and wants to continue, I think that's a good thing and the bottom line that if somebody wants to be a judge or referee they should have a knowledge of the techniques that the athletes are doing."