Secondary MMA Judges To Be Isolated For Cage Fury Fighting Championship 52

MMA Junkie reports that the New Jersey State Athletic Control Boad will conduct an experiment during Cage Fury Fighting Championship 52 on October 31. Three judges will be placed in “soundproof isolated rooms” to work with the three cageside judges for the event. It happens at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. The isolated judges will received a muted video feed of the fights. Both sets of judges will give their scores to officials, but the cageside judges get the final say.

NJSACB commissioner Larry Hazzard and general counsel Nick Lembo said: “This agency has been pleased with both the quality of judging and our judging roster in this state, but we recently have wondered about the effects of blocked views, limited angles, sight distance and to a small degree, crowd noise. Technological advances and skilled camera technicians can now offer the viewing fan base a closer, clearer and more precise visual of the action at hand as compared to what the judges see cageside. It is noteworthy that promotional executives and event broadcasters sitting cageside frequently view a table monitor as much or more than they view the live action itself.”

CFFC CEO Robert Haydak worked with the NJSACB in the past year to use instant replay. He said he’s always wondered if hometown fighters get a boost from their hometown fans. He added: “This is really going to be interesting whether the scoring remains the same or differs in any way.“