'They need to be fired'… Michael Bisping buries UFC 305 judge over 'insane' 30-27 scorecard in 60-second rant
19/08/2024 10:52
There was some major controversy this weekend in Australia as one of the official UFC 305 judges was removed midway through the event, and prior to calling the co-main clash between Steve Erceg and Kai Kara-France.
The judge was removed from the Perth PPV after turning in one of the worst scorecards in recent memory; a 30-27 to Tai Tuivasa in a fight that almost everyone watching had 30-27 for his opponent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Whilst there have been a plethora of reactions and responses from the global MMA community, not many gave a more impassioned breakdown than the one and only, Michael Bisping.
Michael Bisping slams the UFC 305 judge in brutal 60-second rant
As the main card of UFC 305 got underway, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping was hosting a watch party for the event with his family; and it's safe to say that 'The Count' wasn't best pleased with the 30-27 scorecard for Tai Tuivasa.
"A 30-27?! That's one of the craziest [scorecards], that's insane man – horrendous," lamented the veteran fighter turned commentator, acknowledging that even the most hardcore 'Bam Bam' fans wouldn't agree with such an egregious total.
"[Take] anybody from the street, show them that fight, and they will tell you who was winning but one of these professional judges, and I'm a big fan of Tai Tuivasa so I take no pleasure in saying this, but Jairzinho Rozenstruik just beat him from start to finish.
"Yes, Tai Tuivasa landed a lot of shots, but it was a dominating performance from Jairzinho Rozenstruik; he went out there and dominated the fight."
For anyone who didn't watch the fight live, Rozenstruik out-struck Tuivasa 91 to 37 over the course of the 15 minutes, with 'Bigi Boy' landing 49% of his significant strikes to just 29% from the Australian.
"These judges are costing people their livelihood, title shots and money in the bank," continued Bisping, before reiterating the view of many within the MMA community that such horrendous score totals are reason enough to warrant a mid-event axing.
"These judges are coming out with insane scorecards like that, they need to be fired – they should not be doing this job… Any man, woman, old lady or child watching that fight can say who one – that was straight-up bulls***!”
Yet Bisping wasn't the only one with an interesting take on the judging controversy, with UFC Executive Dave Shaw also sharing his reaction at the post-fight press conference.
UFC Executive reacts to the removal of the judge midway through event
With Dana White away, UFC Exec Dave Shaw hosted the UFC 305 press conference and when asked about the decision to remove the judge; the VP of International and Content explained how that decision was made by the local commission, not the promotion.
"Don't forget that the Western Australian Combat Sports Commission are the lead committee here. They are responsible for all of those decisions, [and] I guess someone made the call that the performance was probably not worth keeping them involved for the rest of the night.
"It's good checks and balances, everybody needs to be held to a high standard," stated Shaw, who noted that when such a scandalous scorecard gets submitted, time away from the sport is the only reasonable option left.
"If I don't do my job or you don't do your job maybe it's good to sit on the bench for a while and reconsider the work. Try to figure out how to get back on track and do a better job next time. I think generally in life that's a decent principle."
Rozenstruik himself reacted to the shocking scorecards at the post-fight press conference.
