Din Thomas makes case for open scoring in UFC, says disclosing scorecards post-fight is useless to competitors

Din Thomas [Image Courtesy: @DinThomas on Twitter]

The discussion about open scoring continues to rage on as UFC analyst Din Thomas recently weighed in on the matter.

The former fighter stated that showing the judges’ scorecards after the fight serves no purpose for the fighters. Questioning the reasoning behind the lack of open scoring on MMA's biggest stage, Thomas wrote on Twitter:

“I don't really see the point in showing the score cards AFTER the fight is over. If you're not going to show it when it can be useful to the fighters, why show it at all???”

I don't really see the point in showing the score cards AFTER the fight is over. If you're not going to show it when it can be useful to the fighters, why show it at all???

The statement comes on the back of Josh Emmett’s narrow victory over Calvin Kattar on Saturday. It was a close, action-packed five-round affair, ending in a split decision victory for Emmett.

Thomas’ not only posted a tweet about open scoring in the UFC after the fight, he also talked about it during the headliner of this past weekend's Fight Night event. During the live broadcast, he stated that cornermen should not tell fighters that they lead on points without an open-scoring system.

However, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier was quick to shut down Thomas' take.

UFC Broadcast talking about "Open Scoring"

@arielhelwani leading again the "MMA Talk"

New Supporter: Din Thomas

#UFCAustin #TheMMAHour https://t.co/SzZTkNCZyW

Ariel Helwani voices his opinion about the open scoring in the UFC after Kattar vs. Emmett headliner

Reacting to Daniel Cormier silencing Din Thomas on the live broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Emmett for his take on open scoring, MMA journo Ariel Helwani took to Twitter to comment on the exchange.

“What's this? Open scoring talk. No no go on guys keep talking about it!”

What's this? Open scoring talk.

No no go on guys keep talking about it!

Helwani is famously in favor of open scoring and has been calling for a change for quite some time now.

Citing how the judges' scorecards affect the fighters financially, the host of The MMA Hour clarified that while open scoring isn't the solution to fixing judging, it offers fighters a chance to understand where they stand going into the final few rounds of a bout.

That’s not the point. Just like open scoring isn’t the solution to fix judging.

It’s about the fighters. They are screwed on a WEEKLY basis. They deserve guaranteed money. They deserve a say. They deserve to know where they stand.

I will never change my stance on this. twitter.com/rahmanisayev/s…

The open scoring system debate has seemingly divided the combat sports community. Some believe that real-time knowledge of judges’ scores would help fighters adapt their strategy, while others believe that it would suck all of the excitement out of the fights.

Currently, open scoring is utilized in promotions such as Pancrase, Glory Kickboxing, and Invicta FC.