Brazilian Judge Guilherme Bravo Discusses Scoring of Flyweight Title Bout at UFC 290

After a 28-day drought that coincided with Amanda Nunes’ retirement, Alexandre Pantoja brought a UFC title back to Brazil with his thrilling victory over Brandon Moreno on Saturday night.

The official verdict was one of the UFC 290 co-main event’s most tense moments, with the scoring of a couple closely-contested rounds up for debate. In the end, Pantoja became the promotion’s fifth flyweight champion with a split-decision triumph. The scorecards, however, remained a subject of controversy, particularly the one submitted by judge Ben Cartlidge. While Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo submitted identical 48-47 tallies in favor of Pantoja, Cartlidge saw it 49-46 for Moreno — giving the final four frames to the Mexican flyweight.

Respected Brazilian judge Guilherme Bravo discussed the scoring on his show “Momento Bravo” after the bout.

"That really scared me. In that fifth round Pantoja was superior, even in striking aspects in the first two minutes. Then he took Moreno down at the 2:15 mark, got the back, closed the lock, punished him with punches from his back. Then he applied the cross face and the fight was over. Each of these grappling actions must be scored just like a punch or kick is while the fight is standing. Control is different from dominance. What Pantoja did was go forward in order to decide the fight and that must be considered in a judge’s criteria.”

Bravo also explained how he judges each action.

"I like the point system. I attribute values to each action. Of course, it depends on other factors like the 3 D´s (damage, duration and dominance). But everything must be scored both in grappling and striking aspects. Just like you attribute values to jabs and kicks, you must do the same with a throw, guard pass, mount and submission attempt. MMA is a very complex mult- disciplinary sport and must be judged in all its complexity.”

With the experience of having judged many UFC cards in Brazil, Bravo also explained what happens once the event concludes. He hopes that one day judges will be able to explain their reasoning to fans and media just as they do to athletic commissions and the UFC behind closed doors.

"When the UFC is over, all the judges and referees have a meeting in a closed room with a UFC representative, normally [Marc Ratner], and commissioners, where all results are debated,” he said. “Of course the result of that debate doesn’t go to the media, but I hope one day that changes.

“I have the notes I took from all UFC fights that I judged since 2011. I think it would be a step forward to the sport if the fighters and fans could understand the judges criteria better and it would be great for judges too to explain their view.”