Nevada judges reviewed three fights from Noche UFC, including the controversial fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko 2, where a 10-8 score from judge Mike Bell led to a draw that saw Grasso keep her flyweight belt, sparking discussions on scoring criteria and calls for consistent judging.
Licensed judges in Nevada held a review of three fights at Noche UFC on Wednesday, with a primary focus on the controversial fifth round of Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2. This followed a wave of controversy ignited by judge Mike Bell’s 10-8 score for Grasso, a decision that resulted in a draw and allowed Grasso to retain the flyweight belt from the fight last Saturday in Las Vegas. Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Jeff Mullen explained that the purpose of the review was to distinguish between correct and incorrect decisions in the rounds. He expressed hope that attendees of the meeting would understand how the reviewed rounds were correctly and incorrectly judged.
Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 was scored by three judges, two of whom—Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo—were present at the review and discussed their scoring choices. Although Mike Bell, the third judge, couldn’t attend due to prior commitments, his absence didn’t go unnoticed given his controversial scoring in the Grasso vs. Shevchenko fight. D’Amato had scored the match 48-47 in favor of Shevchenko, while Kamijo gave the same score to Grasso. However, Mullen stood in defense of Bell’s judging record, praising his performance over the past five years while also noting his disagreement with Bell’s 10-8 score for Grasso.
Also up for review was the first match of Noche UFC between Josefine Knutsson and Marnic Mann, which saw Knutsson emerging victorious by a considerable margin. Another round analyzed was the first round of Loopy Godinez vs. Elise Reed. Prior to diving into the fights, the judges took time to go over the criteria for a 10-8 round, which focuses on dominance, damage (also referred to as impact), and duration when determining the score. The session stressed that a fighter who displays “little to no offensive output” or satisfies two of the “three Ds” should normally be considered for an 8 rather than a 9 score.
The last round to be examined was the fifth round of Shevchenko vs. Grasso 2, which witnessed a massive shift in momentum when Shevchenko failed a throw, resulting in Grasso being on her back. The decision to award Grasso the round with a 10-8 score was contested by Mullen who clarified the logic behind scoring. He explained that in situations where a fighter has a comfortable lead, it requires a significant amount of damage to sway the scoring to a 10-8, as was the case with Bell’s decision. UFC CEO Dana White has plans to rebook the flyweight title fight, having previously expressed outrage over Bell’s score. The scheduling of the rematch might rely on Shevchenko’s recovery from a broken thumb she suffered in the opening round of the recent bout.