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Megan Anderson, a former Invicta competitor-turned-analyst, recently weighed in on the controversial Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira decision and discussed the open scoring format utilized by the world's leading all-female MMA promotion, Invicta FC.
The MMA community is still buzzing after this past weekend’s controversial main event. The UFC Vegas 55 headliner ran its 25-minute course and the ringside judges awarded Vieira a split decision victory, despite Holm outstriking the Brazilian throughout the bout.
This sparked a debate regarding open scoring and how it needs to be implemented to ensure that fighters know where they stand during fights. UFC commentator Jon Anik discussed it on Twitter, prompting a response from former UFC title challenger Megan Anderson.
Replying to Anik's tweet regarding open scoring, Anderson wrote:
"Invicta has open scoring and it works well. They give the results to the coach, who decides. Some women we've spoken to said they want their coach to tell them, others have opted to not know. I think its a dec to be talked about beforehand between fighter & coach."
There’s no doubt that the open scoring debate will rage on for as long as we witness questionable judges' decisions. It’s worth noting that in addition to Invicta FC, open scoring is also used by Glory Kickboxing and boasts a good track record of success.
Invicta FC's test run of the open scoring system
The all-female promotion opted to have a test run of the open scoring system over two years ago. It started with their Phoenix Series 3 event, which took place on March 6, 2020, and featured an eight-woman, one-night bantamweight tournament.
Prior to the tournament, the promotion's founder Shannon Knapp issued a statement revealing that the fighters themselves should judge if the open scoring system works in their favor.
The judges' scores were posted on the big screen at the arena and passed on to the broadcast team, as well as the fighters’ corners. The test was considered a success, and an open scoring system was utilized for the next nine events held by the promotion.
