In Praise Of UFC Commentators John Gooden and Dan Hardy
Or That's How You Inform Viewers On Scoring Criteria
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This post focuses on the fantastic job the UFC commentary team of John Gooden and Dan Hardy did on Saturday’s F.
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I get a lot of comments about how my MMA coverage is often negative. I can’t argue with that assessment. The beat I choose to cover, MMA media criticism, kind of lends itself to predominantly negative coverage. That’s just the nature of the sport. However, today I have a bit of a surprise for you, dear reader. Today’s blog is almost entirely positive. Surprised? Yeah, me too, but I have to give credit where it’s due and credit is due UFC commentator John Gooden for his call on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 168 card from Auckland, New Zealand.
Throughout the event Gooden did an outstanding job of reminding fight fans of how the judges are supposed to score a fight. Gooden didn’t give his opinion on the scoring, he saw a situation in the octagon and pointed out that it was ineffective. An excellent example of this was when Magomed Mustafaev racked up takedowns, but yet did nothing with those takedowns against Brad Riddell in the opening fight of the main card. The three video clips below are examples of Gooden pointing out/questioning if Mustafaev’s takedowns should count for anything on the scorecards. Especially poignant is the second video.
According to the scoring rules: “It shall be noted that a successful takedown is not merely a changing of position, but the establishment of an attack from the use of the takedown.” (bold mine)
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Rarely, if ever, did Mustafaev establish an attack from the use of his takedowns. They were more or less used to keep stall in the top position.Therefore those takedowns were an example of ineffective grappling. Had Mustafaev landed strikes, tried to pass guard, thrown in a hook or attempted a submission, yes then that would be effective grappling, but he did not do that.
Also, I’d be remiss in not praising the color work of Dan Hardy. Hardy lends a genuine excitement to his calls, which feels different from other UFC color commentators. He gives off a positive and energetic vibe throughout the events, which has to be hard when he and his partner are on the mics for so long. How he manages to do that, I don’t know, but he does. What Hardy also does better than anyone else on the UFC color staff is not only look to describe what he sees, but also to learn something from the fights. I think that combined approach makes his calls better than most.
In closing, Gooden and Hardy are a great team who we do not get to see work together too often and that’s a shame, they compliment each other well and I’d like to see them work more events if possible. If that’s not possible the UFC should have them do event wrap-up videos as well as their preview videos. The UFC needs to utilize this duo more. They are excellent.
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If I can add one piece of advice/criticism, I would implore other commentators to follow Gooden’s lead from his call on Saturday when it comes to pointing out the scoring criteria when it would be helpful. For instance when grappling is ineffective. I think that will help fans as well as pressure the judges into working harder to score the fights correctly.
