Referee decisions are quite a controversial way to decide a victor in a sport where even points take a back seat in deciding. In the hierarchy of match, a success is always qualified in this order:
submission
points
advantages
ref decision
But with the introduction of sub only and different time limits we’ve given room to the stalling tactics. And there’s also the question of how do you call how close one is to tapping? Can you really compare the two without being inside the head of the two competitors?
Perhaps the most famous case of this is Eddie Bravo and Royler. The public opinion is that Bravo dominated repeatedly sweeping but we didn’t see Royler tapping and it allowed for his family to later make controversial statements regarding the match.
Of course this was all at Metamoris, which had shady business practice but at the same time it was reffed by the dirty dozen Chris Haueter – a man whose credentials you can hardly question with a straight face.
Then we go take a look at the famously small and popcorn cranking promotion – Fight 2 Win. What the average grappler might not even realize is that fight to win is well above the 50th edition of the event – thanks to their cost efficient business model. Without getting into specifics Fight To Win , which constantly changes locations, is no stranger to “could’ve gone either way” matches that often end up in the hands of the athlete who is a local. One definitively interesting example of this was the Lucas Hulk Barbosa match with Gordon Ryan in his home state of New Jersey.
Gordon Ryan Calls Out Galvao After Galvao Labels Ryan’s Victory Over Barbosa Inexplicable
But the latest edition of the event paired Kit Dale and added member of the Danaher squad – Jake Shields.
The match went to Shields even though it was not so clear cut:
How would you answer the challenges when it comes to ref decisions? Is overtime the least worse choice to decide a victor?
