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Dear Dana White:
On Saturday night, Matt Hamill was robbed in London. The split decision in Hamill’s UFC 75 fight against Michael Bisping, a Brit fighting in his home country, was atrocious. Hamill clearly won the first two rounds on strikes and takedowns, while Bisping’s punches landed on Hamill’s arms. Hamill did seem to lose the third round; although, one judge even gave him the third, probably based upon his takedowns. This is not something about which reasonable people can disagree. Matt Hamill won that fight.
The decision was a complete shocker. In fact, one could hear a whole lot of boos and whistles from the crowd after it was announced. This was the same partisan crowd that had wildly cheered Bisping before and throughout the fight. Many of these British fans must have thought the decision was bad too.
Bad decisions happen. You are lucky that they have actually been rare in the UFC. When a decision in a fight or a boxing match is bad, viewers feel the injustice. The same thing happens when an umpire makes a bad call in baseball, or a referee makes a bad call in a football game. Often, the only justice that a viewer may ever receive is the fact that an announcer agrees and justifies those feelings.
On Saturday night, your announcers had been making comments throughout the fight implying that they thought Hamill was winning. But, when the decision was announced, they failed to address in any way the boos from the crowd or whether they thought a bad decision had been made. The writers on your website did not even mention the fact that the decision was controversial.
In other sports, announcers and writers are independent journalists. They are not usually hired by fight promoters or the owners of sports leagues or teams. Even when announcers do have such conflicts, they still retain the latitude to express their opinions. Have you heard Teddy Atlas announce a boxing match on ESPN? He lets you know exactly how he feels about bad decisions, bad judges, and even bad state commissions.
Here are a few suggestions to rectify this injustice. First, set up a rematch between Hamill and Bisping that takes place in the United States. Second, insist on experienced, fair judges in all fights. Think about whether this includes Cecil Peoples, who has been involved in some controversial decisions. Finally, allow and encourage your announcers and writers to disagree and debate decisions. This will not weaken your organization in any way. On the contrary, being open and honest and fair will only make the UFC even stronger as the premiere mixed martial arts organization.
