The controversial decision that followed Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks seems to have struck a chord in the minds of many in the MMA community. By “struck a chord in,” I of course mean “destroyed the reason center of.”
This is a relatively new phenomenon that has popped up in this era of tough calls and social media.
MMA has seen its share of controversial decisions. It has also seen its share of close fights that could’ve gone either way, leading a vocal portion of the fanbase to go absolutely wild if they scored things differently. These tough-to-call bouts are the leading cause of an ailment known as Close Decision Syndrome (CDS).
Think back to when Lyoto Machida retained his belt against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Fans, like today, found themselves up in arms. It was an undeniably, egregiously bad call that had no real foundation in reality.
The evidence? Well, just watch the fight. Look at the champ whiff almost every punch he threw and eat leg kicks in return.
It was truly, honestly simple.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks, though, is difficult. It is impossible to point to one simple thing and say “well, Hendricks should have won because of this.” Unless, of course, one is suffering from CDS.
Symptoms include uncontrollable fits of immaturity, needless aggression towards friends, family and coworkers and, above all, an irrational over-prioritization of things that otherwise hold no bearing when judging a mixed martial arts bout.
People afflicted with CDS as a result of St-Pierre vs. Hendricks have been found putting their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes and yelling “look at his face,” a reference to the damage St-Pierre took from Hendricks during the bout. The infected include the likes of UFC President Dana White and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
@tophercohen it’s all about damage! Come on. You’re telling me how to score a fight?
— Matt Hughes (@matthughes9x) November 17, 2013
It goes without saying that, in the 10-point must scoring system that MMA uses today, the claim that damage should be a factor in the decision is caused by this form of temporary psychosis. A clear-thinking individual knows that this makes no sense.
Fighters wear damage in different ways, as St-Pierre rarely comes out of a fight looking fresh even after a lopsided victory. Compare this with Anderson Silva, who looked untouched after taking 320 punches from Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. This also completely ignores strikes to the legs and body.
These allegations can also make the accuser look downright foolish. For example, Dana White was absolutely indignant over the results of the two bouts between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson. This was in spite of the fact that Henderson looked remarkably fresh after both while Edgar sported cuts, bruises and welts after both.
CDS can take on many forms. Over the last two years, outbreaks have seen the afflicted cite a slew of non-factors as undeniable proof that their delusions have entered reality.
In the flare-up following the second bout between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar, craven fans insisted on a strict adherence to the numbers provided by FightMetric. This, of course, flies in the face of numerous unquestioned decisions of the past such as Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem and Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo, where the loser owned the edge in strikes but not on scorecards.
Another noteworthy case came up following Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit. In that fight, Diaz fans claimed that, because he owned the center of the cage for more time in three of five rounds, he should get the win in spite of the substantial striking deficit between them (which saw Condit land 40 percent more strikes throughout the fight).
It’s an unfortunate condition but, luckily, it tends to clear with time. How, though, can we prevent CDS? Well there are a few simple methods.
First, always consider that a close round can go either way. Round 1 in St-Pierre vs. Hendricks was an undeniable toss-up. The same goes for Rounds 2 and 3 in Henderson vs. Edgar 2. Expecting a consensus among judges when not even fans can see eye-to-eye is somewhat unrealistic.
Second, remember that things look very different from different angles. Watching a fight in the bleachers looks very different from watching it on TV, and watching it cageside is similarly incomparable. This writer has watched fights cageside, scored it in favor of one guy, and watched it on TV and wondered how the earlier conclusion could have been drawn.
Finally, always rewatch fights. It really helps keep a level head and provides precious time between the announcement of the winner and that first post on Twitter.
All this can help make CDS a thing of the past. If you believe yourself to be suffering from Close Decision Syndrome, log out of social media and seek help.
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