When the final horn sounds and the fight is about to go to the scorecards, everyone has an opinion on who won. Only three voices truly matter, though: those of the three cageside judges.

In 2020, the UFC hosted 41 events in 10 locations, which included 11 pay-per-view events. There were 220 decisions overall. Of those, 185 were unanimous and 35 were split.

Across those decisions, 11 individual judges ruled on 25 or more of these decisions, according to MMA scoring database MMA Decisions‘ year-end tally.

Sal D’Amato and Derek Cleary came in first and second place respectively, a flip-flop from 2019’s top two. Their 29 UFC events judged each broke the previous year-end record of 20.

Judges who were not in the top 10 in 2019, but joined the list in 2020 were Dave Hagen, Junichiro Kamijo, David Lethaby, Clemens Werner and Anders Ohlsson.

Dave Tirelli, Mark Collett, Guilherme Bravo, and Tony Weeks, who were all featured in the top 10 in 2019, didn’t crack the list in 2020.

Check out the 2020 busiest judges tally (via MMA Decisions) below.

1. Sal D’Amato – 77 decisions in 29 events
2. Derek Cleary – 65 decisions in 29 events
3. Michael Bell – 58 decisions in 26 events
4. Chris Lee – 44 decisions in 22 events
5. Eric Colon – 43 decisions in 21 events
6. Dave Hagen – 37 decisions in 22 events
7. Ron McCarthy – 30 decisions in 16 events
8. Junichiro Kamijo – 28 decisions in 15 events
9. David Lethaby – 25 decisions in 7 events
   Clemens Werner – 25 decisions in 8 events
   Anders Ohlsson – 25 decisions in 7 events

Also, check out previous year-end tallies below:

• Busiest UFC judges of 2019
• Busiest UFC judges of 2018
• Busiest UFC judges of 2017

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-top-10-busiest-judges-2020

Regional promotion XMMA is working on its next event, and its lineup already features a handful of notable names.

Former UFC lightweight contender James Vick will compete in his first fight since departing the promotion in 2020 when he takes on former Bellator and PFL fighter Andre Fialho in a welterweight fight.

The event takes place Jan. 30 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Palm Beach, Fla., and streams for free on XMMA.com.

Also on the card, former UFC featherweight Kyle Bochniak (8-5) battles Caio Uruguai (7-3), and former UFC heavyweight Marcelo Golm (7-3) fights former PFL standout Muhammed DeReese (8-2). Additionally, former Olympian Mahmoud Fawzy (0-0) is expected to make his MMA debut on the card.

From August 2018 to October 2019, Vick (13-5) lost four straight fights, which ultimately led to his UFC exit. Over that span, he suffered three first-round knockout losses to Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker, and Niko Price. The fourth loss in that stretch was a unanimous decision to Paul Felder.

Fialho (10-4) also enters the Jan. 30 fight on a losing skid, though his only totals three. After going 4-1 in Bellator from February 2016 to October 2018, Fialho joined PFL for its 2019 Season. He lost two fights in the regular season and didn’t qualify for the playoffs. Fialho then signed with LFA and lost a unanimous decision to Antonio dos Santos in October.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/mma-news-ufc-bellator-pfl-alumni-james-vick-bochniak-fialho-golm-dereese-fawzy-xmma

The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2021 will deliver a huge rematch, as former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier and former two-division champ Conor McGregor will go head to head at UFC 257 in a bout with major title implications in the UFC’s 155-pound division.

The pair first clashed at UFC 178 in September 2014, where McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) stunned Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) early in the first round to claim a 106-second knockout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Since then, both men have evolved and developed into two of the best lightweight fighters on the planet.

McGregor captured interim featherweight gold at UFC 189, then upgraded to the undisputed title with a stunning knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194. Then, at UFC 205, he became the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion – a “champ champ” – by finishing Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden. He was eventually stripped of both titles after failing to defend either belt.

Poirier, meanwhile, went back to the drawing board after his defeat and moved up to 155 pounds, where he found another gear as he moved his way up the division and eventually claimed interim lightweight gold with victory over then-featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 236.

Both men have challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title, but both suffered the same fate as they lost via rear-naked choke submission. Now the pair will face off in a rematch looking to push themselves one step closer to a shot at the lightweight belt once again.

Ahead of their bout, former UFC welterweight title challenger and UFC analyst Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy invites us into “The War Room,” as he takes a deep dive into the matchup and offers his technical pointers ahead of the fight. Check out his pre-fight assessment via the video above.

UFC 257 takes place Saturday, Jan. 23 at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event streams on pay-per-view on ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/video-dan-hardy-breaks-down-dustin-poirier-vs-conor-mcgregor-rematch-at-ufc-257

ABU DHABI – Following UFC fighter Spencer Fisher’s admission that he’s battling the effects of CTE in a detailed interview with MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White admits there is still much to learn about the issue of brain injuries, and even hinted at first-hand experience of issues caused by head trauma in combat sport.

The organization announced last week its continued collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic and its Professional Athletes Brain Health Study, and donated $1 million to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

Speaking to MMA Junkie on Wednesday on “UFC Fight Island” ahead of UFC on ABC 1, White explained that the UFC is continuing to work with industry leaders in trying to learn more about the issues of brain health in professional sports.

“Listen, we’re all learning every day about the brain injury stuff,” White said. “We’ve been investing in this (Lou) Ruvo Center to try to figure out more. We’re now interested (about) this thing just came out on ‘Real Sports’ about psychedelics, and we’ve actually reached out to the Johns Hopkins guys, and we’re diving into that.

“But listen, (Fisher)’s not the first, and he’s definitely not going to be the last. This is a contact sport, and everybody who’s ever done this (while) younger, myself included, is dealing with brain issues. It’s just part of the gig.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/dana-white-reacts-to-spencer-fishers-cte-admission-says-ufc-continues-to-invest-in-brain-injury-research