Dan Hooker has given his thoughts on open scoring in MMA. Open scoring is a system whereby the live audience, fighters, and their corners get to know the round-by-round scores of each of the three judges’ scorecards, allowing fighters and their coaches to adjust their gameplan accordingly and enjoy greater transparency.
UFC fighters like Max Holloway and Stephen Thompson love the idea of bringing an open scoring system to more prominent promotions. Dana White has a different take on it however, as he believes it would reduce the excitement and anticipation, leading to fighters playing it safe when they are winning. Hooker agrees with the UFC president.
Dan Hooker On Open Scoring
Speaking to The All Star MMA, Hooker said that fights would get boring if an open scoring system is introduced in MMA.
“I think like Dana White’s argument against that is like a fighters are two rounds up,” Hooker said. “They see the two rounds off the score, then they just coast, right? Just move away, be defensive. They just coast it out. I think that will happen. That will happen a lot if it is open scoring or something like that. There would be a lot of stalling. A lot of fight would have a lot of stalling.
“Combat sports have always been like that. Boxing has always been like that. Like gets it to the end, two guys stand. And it’s like the anticipation at the end. Because a lot of people don’t understand how fights are scored. Or which way they’ve been scored. They are a few key details that are certainly open for interpretation. You gonna lose that anticipation at the end. You’re gonna lose a lot of excitement in the sport.”
What is your take on open scoring in MMA?
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