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Four UFC Fights That Would Have Different Outcomes Under ‘Stockton Rules’

(Smiling in the presence of a woman? Automatic one-point deduction. / Photo via Sherdog)

As sort-of hazily defined by Nick Diaz back in January 2010, the Unified Rules of Stockton is an alternate MMA scoring system in which the winner of the fight is the guy who would have won if the match had continued indefinitely, and the loser is the guy who looks more fucked up afterwards. Under Stockton Rules, only the final round is scored, and holding onto top position without doing damage actually counts for negative points.

The more commonly used ten-point-must system keeps things nice and uniform, and doesn’t require judges to predict the future. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the fighter who has more points on the scorecards isn’t always who you would call the “winner.” So which notable UFC fights would have different results if the scoring system was a little more gangster? Let’s get an obvious one out of the way first…

DAN HENDERSON vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA
UFC 139, 11/19/11

(Smiling in the presence of a woman? Automatic one-point deduction. / Photo via Sherdog)

DAN HENDERSON vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA
UFC 139, 11/19/11

According to the scorecards: Henderson wins by unanimous decision, 48-47 across the board.

What really happened: Shogun got thoroughly handled in the first three rounds, but managed to get some momentum back in the fourth, and spent much of the last round in mount, slugging the crap out of a helpless Hendo who clearly had nothing left. Henderson was saved by the bell, and had fortunately built up enough of a lead early in the fight to clinch the judges’ decision.

According to Stockton Rules: Rua would be awarded a pre-emptive TKO victory, based on the likelihood that he would have finished the fight by round seven.

BJ PENN vs. JON FITCH
UFC 127, 2/27/11

According to the scorecards: Penn and Fitch fought to a majority draw, with two out of the three judges scoring it 28-28.

What really happened: Penn vs. Fitch is a perfect showcase of the shortcomings of the ten-point-must system. The Prodigy was awarded the first two rounds 10-9, for edging out Fitch by the narrowest of margins. Then, Fitch comes back in round three and beats the living hell out of Penn. Add it all up, and the fight is…dead even? Maybe by the numbers, but in no way was that fight a “tie.”

According to Stockton Rules: An obvious decision victory for Fitch, who would still be punching BJ Penn right now if time limits were removed.

JOSE ALDO vs. MARK HOMINICK
UFC 129, 4/30/11

According to the scorecards: Aldo by unanimous decision (48–45, 48–46, 49–46).

What really happened: Just like Dan Henderson’s fight against Shogun, Aldo built up an unsurmountable lead in the early going of this five-rounder. But due to a horrible weight cut and a mysterious infection, the featherweight champ’s body failed him in the fifth round, which allowed Hominick to come back and pour on a heap of abuse which nearly finished the fight.

According to Stockton Rules: It’s a draw. Hominick probably would have won if the fight were allowed to continue to additional rounds, but when you add in the “more fucked-up-looking” criteria, Aldo evens the score by making Hominick’s head look like a damn parade float. Raise both of their hands and make them fight again the next day. (Also known as “Stockton Scheduling.”)

ANDERSON SILVA vs. CHAEL SONNEN
UFC 117, 8/7/10

According to the scorecards: The fight never went to the judges. Silva won by triangle-armbar submission in round five.

What really happened: Chael Sonnen spent four and a half rounds taking Silva down at will and smashing him from the top. Hell, he was even getting the better of the standup exchanges somehow. And then, as has happened many times before in his pro career, Sonnen fell into the unforgiving crotch of a Brazilian and got choked out.

According to Stockton Rules: Sonnen by split-decision. Look, I know what you’re thinking — how could the guy who tapped out be considered the winner of a fight? Well, you clearly haven’t read the Stockton Rules fine print. As Nick Diaz explains at the 10:50 mark of his interview with Ariel, “I say, even if you tapped the guy out and you got your ass beat, you still got your ass beat, you know what I mean?”

Or, as Sonnen himself put it later, “In what parallel universe can you punch a man 300 times, he wraps his legs around your head for eight seconds and they declare him the winner? On the streets of West Linn, Oregon, if you lay on your back with your legs wrapped around a man’s head for eight seconds, that does not make you a winner. That makes…not a winner.” The man’s got a point — and it’s pretty obvious that Chael Sonnen is a Stocktonite at heart.

(BG)

Breaking Down a UFC Welterweight Grand Prix Without GSP

Truth be told, the UFC’s welterweight division might be the most wide-open and competitive division in the world if it wasn’t for that pesky Georges St-Pierre beating everyone up all the time. The amount of talent in the division is almost …

Truth be told, the UFC’s welterweight division might be the most wide-open and competitive division in the world if it wasn’t for that pesky Georges St-Pierre beating everyone up all the time.

The amount of talent in the division is almost overwhelming when you actually take the time to sit down and look at the roster, and it is actually a bit sad that so many talented fighters have been denied a UFC title due to St-Pierre’s dominance.

For the purpose of this article, let’s pretend that GSP has either dropped to lightweight, moved up to middleweight to fight Anderson Silva, retired, moved on to play Jason Bourne in a new series of action films or started a waffle house in Canada somewhere.

Either way, he’s not here.

With that, the best way to decide a new champion is obviously an old-school Pride-style Grand Prix.

So sit back, enjoy if you’re so inclined, and if you feel the need to blast me in the comments, please don’t do it because of the seeding.

Begin Slideshow

Jon Fitch: "I Have No Idea What’s Expected of Me to Get the Title Shots"

UFC welterweight contender and former title challenger Jon Fitch (23-3-1) is only one spot behind reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in most of the 170 pound rankings, but his upcoming bout with Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 isn’t going …

He doesn’t exactly know what he needs to do to get a second chance, according to an interview with MMAweekly.com.

“I really have no idea,” said Fitch, who is currently riding a five-fight win streak. “No one’s ever come to speak to me about doing anything wrong or right or whatever, so I’m completely clueless.”

“I have no idea what’s expected of me to get the title shots,” Fitch continued. “No one’s ever come to me and said they don’t like what I’m doing or I need to do more of something else. I’m utterly and completely clueless in that regard.”

Fitch’s last fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 127 resulted in a draw, which many thought Fitch had deserved to win.

Before that, his victories included those over Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders, Mike Pierce, Paulo Thiago and Akihiro Gono. Of those five, all have gone the distance. In fact, the last time he hasn’t been to the scorecards was in a 2007 bout when he submitted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Roan Carneiro.

“My goals are: one, to win the welterweight belt; two, avenge my loss to GSP; and three, I would like to move up some day and challenge Anderson (Silva) if he’s still around and undefeated, just because that’s the kind of person I am,” Fitch said.

“I want to challenge the best. I want to go up against the best. I want to prove to everybody that I’m the best.”

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UFC News: Why Teammates Refusing to Fight Each Other Is Bad for the Sport

Most people who have brothers and sisters have gotten into a tussle at least once while they were growing up. It’s considered a natural part of the dynamic between siblings. But to some UFC fighters, a bout against their “brother” isn’t in the picture….

Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch are two guys who have made it adamantly clear they have no intention of fighting each other. “If there’s no one else for me to compete with at 170 other than Koscheck, I’m going to move up,” Fitch told MMA Weekly.

Given Fitch’s position at welterweight, there are very few fights for him outside of Koscheck. Fitch is widely considered the No. 2 welterweight in the world behind Georges St-Pierre, which presents a problem when matching him up against other fighters.

Previously, Fitch stated he only wanted to fight current or former champions (via ESPN.com). Besides attempting to pick and choose his fights, Fitch stated he was willing to wait for these main events and main event fighters.

However, in August of this year, Fitch changed his tune (via MMA Mania).

After being on the shelf for a long time due to injury, it seemed Fitch was unwilling to wait and would take on just about any fighter he could.

We’ve all seen how waiting can damage a fighter’s career, so it’s good Fitch realized the error of his ways, but he’s still back in the same limbo he was before.

Most of the fights that would serve Fitch’s career the best are already booked up. Anthony Johnson is set to square off against Vitor Belfort, Jake Shields and Yoshihiro Akiyama look ready to grace the Octagon and Nick Diaz is training for his title shot against GSP.

That leaves only Jake Ellenberger as a viable option due to the aforementioned fights and injuries to other fighters. And even Ellenberger has been strongly linked to a bout with Diego Sanchez once “The Dream” returns from hand surgery.

As you can see, the welterweight title picture is set to clear itself up in a few months, but the reluctance of guys to fight their training partners, like Fitch and Kos, only adds to the cloudy title picture.

Kos replied to criticism with the sarcastic humor that one would expect from him.

You guys really want to see us fight—Monday, Wednesday, Friday—come to AKA in San Jose (Calif.). You guys can stand up there, you can watch us fight and it will be for free. You don’t have to pay $54 for it (via MMA Weekly).

Sorry to quote The Joker, but “If you’re good at something never do it for free.”

It’s not like we are asking the two men to go out on national television and run a slander campaign against one another.

If teammates are fine with “fighting” each other three times a week to train, why can’t they do it one time in front of a crowd?

I understand it messes with the dynamic of team chemistry, and the lack of coaches would make the situation difficult, but not doing something you already do three times a week to mess with your career is just plain stupid.

Teammates can go into the Octagon, fight hard for 15 to 25 minutes and then go have a beer or a shot of wheat grass after.

Fans aren’t trying to tear up family-like relations or blow up camps, we just want to see the best fights possible. We’ve seen teammate vs. teammate matchups work out just fine before; it won’t be the end of the world.

It’s just a matter of going out there, doing what you are paid to do and collecting a paycheck—something Koscheck has said is his main motivation for fighting still, via MMA Mania. Well Mr. Koscheck, I can bet that even if you and Fitch had Thanksgiving dinner together, people would still buy the fight.

We’ve seen some fighters like Frank Mir say fighters shouldn’t train with guys in their weight class in the UFC (via MMA Torch). That’s certainly a good thinking method as there are options out there for guys to train with besides just UFC fighters.

If we continue to see the formation of MMA “Super Gyms” like Tri Star and Jackson’s MMA, where half a division trains under the same set of coaches, nobody will be moving up the ladder as they will all be sitting on the sidelines collecting debt.

It’s a shame that guys like Koscheck would be fine with not doing anything simply to avoid fighting a teammate (MMAweekly.com).

For someone who cares about money and big-name fights, that’s a lot of cash to walk away from.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA Black Friday: 7 Things That Money Can’t Buy

(A PSP, a Marmaduke book, and fistful of dollars… Man, this cat really knows how to get down!)

By Jason Moles

While our wives and girlfriends are busy maxing out our credit cards in hopes of finding the perfect gift for everyone she knows, we should be reminded that money can’t buy everything — especially in the world of mixed martial arts. Follow us after the jump to discover the irony of the MMA Black Friday. I promise it will be better than the turkey sandwich and leftover pumpkin pie you’ll have for lunch.

1.) Resurrection

In June, Cheick Kongo did what no man has done since the Messiah some 2,000+ years ago — he defeated death. Alright, so maybe I’ve had a few too many turkey day cocktails and that’s not exactly how it went down, but you get the jist. Kongo was knocked unconscious not once but twice in his fight against fellow heavyweight Pat Barry and he still managed to win the fight! By KO nonetheless. No amount of Earthly money could ever buy a second (or third) chance to live again. If it were that easy, Steve Jobs would’ve made certain you increase your credit limit.

(A PSP, a Marmaduke book, and fistful of dollars… Man, this cat really knows how to get down!)

By Jason Moles

While our Carlos Condit’s Wife Seager Is Rather Attractive [PHOTOS]” href=”http://www.cagepotato.com/mma-w-a-g-alert-carlos-condits-wife-seager-is-rather-attractive-photos/”>wives and girlfriends are busy maxing out our credit cards in hopes of finding the perfect gift for everyone she knows, we should be reminded that money can’t buy everything — especially in the world of mixed martial arts. Follow us after the jump to discover the irony of the MMA Black Friday. I promise it will be better than the turkey sandwich and leftover pumpkin pie you’ll have for lunch.

1.) Resurrection

2.) The Joy Experienced Watching Anderson Silva in 2011

From revolutionizing the MMA landscape with a kick the way the Miami Dolphins did with a Wildcat Offense a few years ago to several strangely fascinating videos, Anderson Silva has provided more entertainment than a Chael Sonnen Says F*ck Canada or at Least This Reporter Who Lives There” href=”http://www.cagepotato.com/video-chael-sonnen-says-fck-canada-or-at-least-this-reporter-who-lives-there/” target=”_blank”>Chael Sonnen interview. These are memories that will last a lifetime, or three if you’re Cheick Kongo.

3.) A Clue

Man what I wouldn’t give to slap that stupid look off his face. This guy is more confused than a homeless man on house arrest. If money could by a clue, we’d have to take up another donation. It’s probably best we don’t, though – your better half has been gone quite awhile now.

4.) The Fight You Most Want To See

Fans want Dana White to make two fights happen pronto: Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. It’s no wonder why there’s so much clamoring to see these fighters settle their differences in the Octagon. Take Sonnen for instance, he talked his way into our hearts, gave the pound-for-pound king the beating of his life in route to getting subbed in the final round, and has ceased his verbal attack on “The Spider” going as far as to challenge him to a ‘Loser Leaves Town’ match. There is honest hatred in the Oregonian’s heart that we must see unleashed again — if only to find out how big a role Silva’s injured ribs played.

As for ‘Suga’ and ‘Bones’, the future PPV tagline says it all: Good Friends, Better Enemies. Their genuine dislike for one another only adds fuel to the fire. We all know the story of training partners so close one would fake a hand injury to avoid fighting the other to a young pup stealing all the spotlight while running his mouth about what when on during a sparring session at Jackson’s. Did I mention they had and nearly threw down at a nightclub?

5.) A Title Shot

Jon Fitch has not lost a fight since Georges St. Pierre defeated him for the UFC welterweight championship back in 2008. In that time, Kenny Florian and Lyoto Machida have been given several opportunities to fight for gold. So why not Fitch? Is he too boring? Is it because he doesn’t have a fancy TV show on ESPN or drink his own pee? Yeah, we’re not sure either. Since money is useless when attempting to get a title shot, we came up with a few ways Fitch might get another crack anyway.

6.) Forgiveness

You can’t think about Paul Daley sucker punching Josh Koscheck and subsequently being fired without hearing Don Henley’s ‘The Heart of the Matter‘ in your head. This is the classic ‘from the penthouse to the outhouse’ scenario; He went from fighting in the UFC in May 2010 to fighting in Impact FC two months later. Despite his apology to Kos, the crestfallen Daley remained focused on working his way back in Dana’s good graces fighting five times this year. Zuffa owned Strikeforce appears to have let “Semtex” wander off on his own after dropping two straight. Tack on his history of missing weight and you’ll see that this is one ‘F’ word you won’t here White say.

7.) The Keys to New York

If money could by Zuffa keys to the state of New York, they would have filled MSG twice already. Remember, they even tried to buy their way in as recent as this past summer. Remember folks, money — it isn’t everything.

Josh Koscheck Willing to Leave UFC to Avoid Fighting Jon Fitch

Want to see Josh Koscheck fight Jon Fitch?Well, the closest you’ll ever get to seeing this bout go down is either popping in a copy of “UFC: Undisputed” or traveling to American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California to watch the teammates spar.Kos…

Want to see Josh Koscheck fight Jon Fitch?

Well, the closest you’ll ever get to seeing this bout go down is either popping in a copy of “UFC: Undisputed” or traveling to American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California to watch the teammates spar.

Koscheck and Fitch have had spats with UFC President Dana White in the past about fighting one another, and their stance hasn’t changed over the years.

Both welterweight contenders have been close friends and training partners for a long time.

“If there’s no one else for me to compete with at 170 other than Koscheck, I’m going to move up,” Fitch told MMAWeekly.

At a recent Q&A session with fans, Koscheck continued to show that he shares the same mentality towards the idea of facing his teammate. But if forced to face Fitch, he admitted that he would do more than merely change weight classes.

“No chance (we will fight),” Koscheck assured. “It’s not worth it to me. I would rather step away from the sport than fight Jon Fitch.”

The idea of teammates fighting has been debated amongst MMA fans and pundits for years. With super camps forming and some of the world’s best training under the same roof, it’s becoming tougher to progress through a division without facing a few teammates or friends along the way.

Still, who really wants to see a fight between unwilling competitors?

“Me and Jon Fitch have been training together for eight years now. You guys really want to see us fight–Monday, Wednesday, Friday–come to AKA in San Jose. You guys can stand up there, you can watch us fight, and it will be free. You don’t have to pay $54 for it,” said Koscheck.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com