Ricardo Almeida Explains Avoiding Conflicts of Interest as an MMA Judge

MMAjunkie recently spoke to former UFC fighter and current MMA judge Ricardo Almeida. he discussed going into judging for MMA in his post-fighting career and if there have any been any possible conflicts of interest due to his association with other fighters and his past fight career. You can check out some highlights below.

Almeida on if there are ever conflicts of interest for judging: “(Potential conflicts have) happened a few times, especially since in New Jersey several of the judges are former fighters, or involved in the sport. Usually, the commission sends an e-mail to everyone, telling us who’s on the card. We look for conflicts of interest, such as if it’s a student of mine, or training partner. So I let them know that I cannot judge that particular fight. It’s also happened that a student of mine fought in the UFC, and I was a cornerman. So I couldn’t be a judge at the same event. I can’t corner my student and then be a judge. It would look bad. So I had to stay out of it. Sometimes I’ve been a cornerman, but not a judge. Other times, I was a judge, not for a fighter of mine, and didn’t get to corner.”

Almeida on how the commission asks about possible conflicts: “Each time, the commission asks about possible conflicts. For example, on Jan. 30, Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal was fighting. I couldn’t judge his fight. We’ve trained together. He trains under Renzo (Gracie). If a controversial decision happens, people would come after me.”