Nevada Judges Are ‘The Best In The World’

After a borderline corrupt 10-8 round that swung a UFC title fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, the NSAC is in damage control mode.

The NSAC refuses to admit that they’ve got a serious issue with their judges.

After 78 ‘UFC Vegas’ events at the Apex in Nevada, fans have gotten used to seeing gonzo cards getting handed in by NSAC judges on the regular. Sometimes those cards swing a fight the wrong way, and in the case of Noche UFC they cost Valentina Shevchenko the women’s flyweight title against Alexa Grasso. Judge Mike Bell scored the fifth round 10-8 for Grasso, turning a Shevchenko win into a split draw.

Furor immediately met that decision, to the point where the commission could not ignore what was clearly a bad call. On Wednesday, NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen hosted a training call with judges to lay out what constitutes a 10-8 while still defending Bell from overall criticism. ESPN’s Marc Raimondi was on the call and shared some details on what was said.

“Mike is one of the very best judges in the world,” Mullen claimed. “He’s just as good a judge as he was [before]. I don’t agree with his score on this round.”

Sadly, Mike Bell typically is one of the more sane judges on the NSAC roster, with Chris Lee, Doug Crosby, and Sal D’Amato usually being the ones in the hot seat after controversial scores. The 10-8 is inexcusable, everyone agrees. Borderline corrupt. To the degree that Nevada will overturn the results? Nope, not going to happen.

The NSAC call laid out the conditions for a 10-8 round.

“In order for a round to be scored 10-8 rather than the typical 10-9 in MMA, there needs to be dominance, duration and damage,” Raimondi reported. “Dominance means it needs to be a one-sided round. Duration indicates that the dominance has to be for a good portion of the round. And damage means that one fighter has to inflict a significant amount of punishment on his or her opponent.”

That didn’t apply to the fifth round of Grasso vs. Shevchenko, where “Bullet” was ahead for a large portion of the round before getting swept and controlled for the final minute and a half.

“If somebody is well ahead, it would take an incredible amount of damage to swing it back to a 10-8,” Mullen explained.

The call was a rallying cry for the NSAC judges to get their s— together.

“We have to get on the same page. We have to understand why it’s the way it is,” Mullen said. “You guys are the best in the world. So, if we keep working at this and keep trying, we’re gonna get there.”

Let’s remind the world that Nevada continues to employ and deploy Adalaide Byrd. Best in the world? Lord help us.