UFC fighter says he pestered Joe Rogan to help get his fight 'look good' to avoid getting unreliable decisions from judges
Chris Curtis recently claimed that he reached out to Joe Rogan and a few others to help him make sure that the optics of his fights look appealing to the judges.
After Paddy Pimblett's controversial decision win over Jared Gordon and Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev title fight shockingly scored a draw at UFC 282, fans and fighters over the past week have widely discussed the issue of MMA judges being inconsistent and puzzling in their scoring.
In a series of tweets on December 22, Chris Curtis claimed that fighters should be aware of how the fight looks to those watching from outside the cage, especially the judges. 'Action Man' also mentioned that since fighting styles vary, it may sometimes seem like fighters are taking more damage than they are or vice-versa.
Read the tweets below:
Optics in a fight: With all the crazy judging going on in the world lately, my coaches at Xtreme Couture have been very vocal about monitoring and protecting the optics of the fight. Essentially this boils down to being aware how the minutes within the round look to the judges
My last fight plays into this very well. A lot of people, judges included, thought I was being touched a lot in the first round, In real time it's hard to pull these exchanges apart,especially with my style of defense. This leads to a somewhat inaccurate 1st impression at times.
The No.14-ranked middleweight further stated that he tried to rope in some prominent MMA personalities like Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier to help him. He wrote:
"I've gone so far as to pester Joe Rogan, Dan Hardy and 'DC' about their opinions on my fight and the optics at the moment vs afterwards... Until there's a more reliable way to rely on judging criteria, it will become increasingly vital for fighters to be aware of how their rounds look."
Stricklands fight is another example of how optics plays into a fight. People say he got damaged more but it was literally a scratch on the nose but from the outside looking in, in the moment it looks like damage. I've gone so far a to pester Joe Rogan, Dan Hardy and DC about
Their opinions on my fight and the optics in the moment vs afterwards. At the end of the day, until there is a more reliable way to rely on judging criteria it will become increasingly vital for fighters to be aware of how their rounds look, even if they feel they are doing well.
Curtis is coming off a second-round knockout victory over Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282.
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When Joe Rogan looked shocked at Paddy Pimblett being announced the winner against Jared Gordon
Joe Rogan is probably one of the most prominent personalities in MMA and serves as a UFC color commentator. The popular podcaster does everything from pre-fight faceoffs to post-fight octagon interviews.
The host of the widely popular The Joe Rogan Experience podcast was also present at UFC 282 and witnessed the controversial bout between Paddy Pimblett and Jared Gordon. While many viewers thought they saw Gordon do enough to secure a decision win, it seems the judges saw the fight differently. The Liverpudlian won the bout via unanimous decision, much to the surprise of many.
Watch the video below:
Joe Rogan reaction to Paddy Pimblett winning 😬 https://t.co/4MZYNZdDI4
In the video that surfaced after the event, Rogan looked dismayed as he waited to perform his post-fight octagon interview. As Bruce Buffer announced the winner, the 55-year-old stared at Belal Muhammad with a look of disapproval.