Transparency defined: Inside the California State Athletic Commission’s post-Bellator 290 debriefing

Never have judges publicly explained their decisions like this until MMA Junkie joined a CSAC meeting in the immediate aftermath of Bellator 290.

Calls for transparency and accountability from judges is a constant thing in MMA. After all, it’s a big responsibility given the livelihoods of fighters depend on judges “getting it right.” And yet, state athletic commissions who hire these officials never make them available to the media – until now.

At Bellator 290 on Feb. 4, the California State Athletic Commission allowed MMA Junkie to attend its immediate post-event debriefing, where judges and referees discussed their decisions with CSAC executives. It was the first time a news organization has been granted access to such a meeting after a major MMA event. Below is an in-depth recap.

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Two days after [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] lost to [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 46 main event, popular combat sports personality Ariel Helwani was flabbergasted by the outcome.

Just how egregious was it? Nineteen of 21 media members scored the fight for Kara-France, according to MMADecisions.com, making it one of the most disputed fights of the year.

Helwani, host of “The MMA Hour,” went on his June 5 show echoing the sentiment of just about everyone who watched the fight. He lambasted both judges – Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato – responsible for awarding Albazi a split decision with 48-47 scores. Mike Bell was the dissenting judge who went 48-47 for Kara-France.

The result, or what some might call a “robbery,” had Helwani wondering what could change – nothing radical, but something feasible.

“One thing that I think is changeable, if that’s even a word … is transparency and accountability,” Helwani said. “And what I mean by that is, why is it that we do not hear from these men and women who are the officials on Saturday night, on Sunday, on Monday to at least explain to us what they were thinking?”

The simple answer is that athletic commissions, who hire and assign MMA judges and referees, widely discourage them from openly discussing the fights they officiate. The Nevada Athletic Commission, which oversaw Albazi vs. Kara-France at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, long has frowned upon judges speaking to the media, with one judge telling MMA Junkie that message has been communicated from NAC executives in the past.

The California State Athletic Commission, however, believes in doing things differently. Helwani said he found this out when he made a phone call to CSAC executive director Andy Foster after the UFC on ESPN 46 main event controversy.

Executive officer Andy Foster (right) leads a California State Athletic Commission meeting to review Bellator 290 at The Forum in Inglewood.

“Andy Foster, he told me, believe it or not, after every event in California – I’ve been doing this since 2006, (and) I never knew this,” Helwani said. “After every event in California, there is actually a commission meeting with the officials that the media is allowed to attend. Did you guys know this? I never knew this.”

It’s true.

In fact, four months prior to UFC on ESPN 46, during a phone conversation in the lead up to Bellator 290 on Feb. 4, Foster invited me to the CSAC’s debriefing for the event held at The Forum in Inglewood. Much to my surprise, I didn’t have to ask. He invited me.

“There’s this nonsense going around in various media circles that commissions are not transparent,” Foster told me. “Nobody’s ever asked to come. You’re welcome to come anytime you want to.”

So I took him up on the offer. Roughly 15 minutes after the final fight at Bellator 290, I sat in an arena conference room while Foster led the meeting of CSAC executives, inspectors, judges, and referees who powwowed about what transpired.

From where I sat cageside, three fights were particularly of interest for different reasons: [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag]; [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag]; and [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag].

And so, I went into the CSAC meeting with questions about all three. It was an enlightening first-time experience to hear judges and one prominent referee speak for themselves to this extent immediately after the fights.

‘It’s rare to see a fighter win off his back’

Nikita Mikhailov def. Darrion Caldwell | Bellator 290

Result: Nikita Mikhailov def. Darrion Caldwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Judges: Chris Leben, Jon Marigliano, Felicia Oh; all three scored each round exactly the same.
Media scores: Four out of five 29-28 in favor of Caldwell (via MMADecisions.com)
Referee: Raphael Davis

Synopsis: This fight came down to the second round. Within the first minute, Caldwell secured a takedown, took Mikhailov’s back and worked a rear-naked choke that, for a moment, was locked in tightly. Mikhailov fought off the hands and then his defense, while lying supine on top of Caldwell, was to throw short, backward punches over his shoulder that landed. With about three minutes remaining, Mikhailov tried to escape by rolling into Caldwell, who did a nice job staying on top but in Mikhailov’s guard. With his back on the mat, Mikhailov kept busy with elbows. Despite owning top control, Caldwell didn’t take full advantage. At the 1:10 mark, referee Davis stood them up. Caldwell landed a nice counter left and hit a perfectly timed double leg takedown to end up inside of Mikhailov’s guard with about 50 seconds remaining. Caldwell was more active with his attach to close the round, but Mikhailov also went back to throwing elbows.

MMA Junkie asks: Caldwell spent the majority of Rounds 1 and 2 in top control and seemed to have secured both of them. Why did all three judges score Round 2 in favor of Mikhailov?

Foster: “He got a takedown, and he had a choke. It’s unusual that you see the amount of damage that that fighter that was being choked or was in that position come back, so I’ve got to think that’s probably what the judges were seeing because they all came back with the same score. The elbows were pretty hard. Chris, you want to start?”

Leben: “It’s rare to see a fighter win off his back, but his striking was far more effective off his back than the grappling was on top. It’s as simple as that. The striking was the most effective thing in that round.”

Marigliano: “Yeah, I agree with that. Initially he had him in the rear and had a choke attempt, but after that dissipated, Caldwell was on top and didn’t, in my eyes, come close to any valid submission, and the guy on the bottom was just damaging with elbows. Really from the three-minute, four-minute, five-minute (marks), all the strikes were landed by the guy on the bottom in my humble opinion.”

Oh: “He had the top position, but he didn’t really do anything. There was a lot of holding. At the beginning, he was attempting the choke. But even after that, he was taking punches, and he wasn’t really trying to finish it. He was more holding. The elbows from the bottom were definitely much more effective.”

Foster: “There was the attempt there where I think he was really trying to get the choke for a little while, for a short amount of time. And it’s like he was content to just sit there and get hit because he was in the better position, but we’re not playing the grappling match. I’m not saying you’ve got to agree with the judges, but you’ve heard their explanation.”

Odd judge explains his thinking

Diana Avsaragova def. Alejandra Lara | Bellator 290

Result: Diana Avsaragova def. Alejandra Lara via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Judges: Hadi Mohamed Ali, Raphael Davis, Jon Marigliano; Marigliano was the odd judge who scored it for Lara.
Media scores: Five out of seven 29-28 in favor of Lara (via MMADecisions.com)
Referee: Jonathan Romero

Synopsis: In Round 1, the timing and distance of Avsaragova’s counter striking was the difference, which showed in all three judges’ 10-9 scores in her favor. Round 2 proved to be the difference. Both landed decent strikes through two minutes, close to even, but after that things got interesting. For about the next two minutes, it appeared Avsaragova got the better of the exchanges – if only slightly. Every time Lara closed the distance, Avsaragova faded the combo attacks and landed counters. But in the final 45 seconds, Lara decided to bite down on her mouthpiece and charge forward with looping punches. The combinations were wild, but some of these shots – perhaps the biggest of the round – landed cleanly and caused Avsaragova to retreat. Lara would later tell MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura that she believed she did enough to get the win.

MMA Junkie asks: Overall this was a very close fight that could’ve gone either way. What was the difference for the judge who scored it for Lara?

Marigliano: “I had Lara winning (Round 2). I thought objectively you could see the damage with her rights because the whole left side of Diana, all around her eye, was bruised up to her cheek. Lara had some great leg kicks in the first round and was bruising the inside of the leg. Diana kept coming forward, so I gave (Diana) the first round. The second round, (Lara) was landing those kicks. Now Diana wasn’t coming forward, so subjectively I thought she had diminished energy. She wasn’t active coming forward, and Lara kept coming forward and was hurting her with the leg kicks. But I really thought she had some right power punches that were more effective the second round and incurred a good bit of damage. That’s why I gave it to her. I thought her striking was more effective – maybe not more efficient, but more effective.”

Foster: “My notes on Round 2 was, ‘Very close, both had moments, that round could’ve gone either way.’ That’s literally what I thought.”

‘I was definitely close to stopping it’

Judge Mike Bell (left) and referee Herb Dean (right) during the California State Athletic Commission’s meeting after Bellator 290 at The Forum in Inglewood.

Result: Ali Isaev vs. Steve Mowry declared unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Judges: Hadi Mohamed Ali, Chris Crail, Elliot Kelly; all three scored each round exactly the same.
Media scores: Eight out of nine 28-28 draw (via MMADecisions.com)
Referee: Herb Dean

Synopsis: There was a pivotal moment within the first 30 seconds of Round 2 when Isaev tried to throw Mowry to the ground, but he missed it and ended up with Mowry on his back, which quickly escalated once Mowry locked in hooks and flattened Isaev on his belly. With his legs hovering above the canvas, Isaev had no escape. For the next 30 seconds, Isaev absorbed a plethora of punches as he struggled to defend himself. During the barrage, referee Dean could be heard on the broadcast telling Isaev to “fight back” and “get out of there” several times as he warned of an impending stoppage. Ultimately, Dean didn’t stop the fight in that moment. The round continued with Mowry in firm control, going back and forth between ground-and-pound and arm-triangle choke attempts while an exhausted Isaev could do nothing but lay there and defend. It was a clear 10-8 for Mowry from all three judges, which led to the unanimous draw.

MMA Junkie asks: There was good reason to stop the fight in Round 2 when Mowry was on Isaev’s back, flattened him out and rained ground-and-pound down on him. The crowd seemed to be calling for a stoppage. Herb, what did you see, and why did you let the action continue?

Dean: “I was close to stopping the fight. I go into the fighters’ rooms, and I give instructions before the fight. I talk about some of the fouls and things like that, but I always tell them, ‘The most important thing I’m going to tell you is before I intervene, I’m going to talk to you. If I say fight back, that means I’m about to stop your fight. What I expect from you is I want to see an effort that lets me know you know what’s going on, you still want to do this, and some sort of effort to solve your position.’ So if I see someone getting pounded on and I say fight back, and he just lays there and continues to (cover up) and hopefully it goes away, then I’m going to stop that fight. But if someone gives me effort to make their position better – now, they don’t always have to be successful, but their effort has to be something where maybe it’s going to make it harder for the other person, he breaks his posture or he has to stop punching. And that’s what that young man (Isaev) did. Whenever I told him to fight back, he gave an effort to get out of the position. He wasn’t successful getting out of the position, but he gave effort, and the other guy had to keep addressing it. Then, after he stopped, I always have to balance if the guy is able to defend himself and how much is he defending himself from. When it got to about the last minute-and-a-half of the round, (Mowry) was still in the mount and about to come after him again, but this time the guy on top was diminished from maintaining that position and trying to (finish the fight). Earlier he was able to roll elbows and land them; this time when he tried to roll elbows or set stuff up, he was never able to land something. So for the last minute of the round, even though (Mowry) was coming after him, he never really landed anything that effective. So (Isaev) did enough to make it through the round. I was definitely close to stopping it, though.”

Final takeaway

Bellator 290 didn’t provide us with a robbery or controversy on the level of Albazi vs. Kara-France, or Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko at Noche UFC, or Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon at UFC 282, or Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan at UFC 280, or any number of high-profile decisions that have made observers scratch their heads. But the event did have a fair number of questions given the 14-fight lineup, and it was insightful to be in that room.

When Bellator returns to the “Golden State” for Bellator 300 on Friday in San Diego, the CSAC will gather immediately afterward to review the event. Reporters are welcome to attend. With four title fights on the night, the judges are sure to be under the spotlight.

But this is what transparency looks like in MMA officiating. There’s too much at stake to not hold judges accountable for their decisions.

The CSAC gets that and is to be commended for going against the grain on this issue. Hopefully more commissions are willing to follow Foster’s lead.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.

Bellator 290 gains: What all 28 fighters weighed on fight night

Find out how much weight all 28 fighters at Bellator 290 gained from the Friday morning official weigh-ins to Saturday night’s fights.

At Bellator 290 on Feb. 4 in Inglewood, Calif., 16 of the 28 fighters on the card gained more than 10 percent of their weight back. Two of those 16 exceeded the 15 percent threshold.

MMA Junkie obtained a list of fight-night weights Monday from California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster.

In California, fighters have their weights checked on fight day – not solely when they have to hit their marks on the scale. The extra procedure was instituted in 2017 as part of the commission’s efforts to cut back on excessive weight cutting. Within those rules was a cap on how much a fighter could gain from the official weigh-ins to the fight.

If a fighter gains more than 10 percent back before the bout, the commission can make a recommendation they move to a higher weight class. If a fighter gains more than 15 percent, the commission can potentially cancel their fight.

Check out the weight gains and percentages for all 28 fighters on the card at Kia Forum.

Bellator 290: Best photos from Inglewood

Check out these photos from Bellator 290, which took place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Check out these photos from Bellator 290, which took place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)

Bellator 290 post-event facts: Ryan Bader keeps perfect rematch record

The attention was on Fedor Emelianenko after Bellator 290, but Ryan Bader continued to show he’s elite in a rematch setting.

The first Bellator event of 2023, Bellator 290, went down Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and it marked a monumental occasion for both the promotion and the sport.

In addition to being the organization’s debut showcase on CBS, the card marked the retirement fight of legendary former PRIDE champion [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-7 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), who suffered a first-round TKO loss to heavyweight titleholder [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in their main event rematch.

The co-headliner saw middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen [/autotag](13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) remain undefeated with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-3 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) for his first title defense.

For more on the numbers behind the title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 290.

Bellator 290 salaries: Ryan Bader, Johnny Eblen lead disclosed purses

Check out the disclosed pay for all 28 fighters on Bellator 290, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Twenty-eight fighters competed Saturday at Bellator 290 with the titleholders leading all disclosed payouts.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Saturday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments, or discretionary bonuses.

One of five fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays, [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] and [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] topped the list with $150,000. Legendary MMA fighter [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] and welterweight Sabah Homasi each made $100,000, despite losses.

Scroll below to see what the 28 fighters on Bellator 290 were paid – disclosed amounts only.

Bellator 290 pre-event facts: Fedor Emelianenko can make history in final fight

Check out the numbers behind Bellator 290, where Fedor Emelianenko has a chance to set records in his retirement fight.

Bellator kicks off its 2023 schedule on Saturday with a landmark event in company history. Bellator 290, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., marks the company’s main card network debut on CBS, which follows prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader is set to headline the card. In the main event, [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will put his heavyweight title fight against MMA legend [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who is set to retire from MMA competition. The pair previously met at Bellator 214 in January 2019, with Bader scoring a 35-second TKO victory.

The co-headliner of the card, meanwhile, will see middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) attempt to make his first title defense when he welcomes challenger [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who has lost just once over the past 11 years.

For more on the numbers behind the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for Bellator 290.

Darrion Caldwell working on legend status starting with Bellator 290, seeks Patricio Freire fight

Former Bellator champ Darrion Caldwell has reached a point in his career where being considered a legend matters to him.

[autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] has reached a point in his athletic career, not just in MMA, where being considered a legend matters to him.

Well before he was Bellator bantamweight champion, Caldwell also won an NCAA Division I wrestling title at North Carolina State back in 2009. It’s been more than three years now since Caldwell lost the 135-pound Bellator belt to Kyoji Horiguchi, and he’s itching to get it back.

Do that, and legend status will be attained.

“I’m just proud of the fact that I ain’t quit, the fact that I continue to show up on good days and bad days,” Caldwell, who now trains at Kill Cliff MMA (formerly Sanford MMA), told MMA Junkie Radio. “For me, right now I’m 35 years old, I feel like I’ve done everything in the sport of wrestling, everything in the sport of MMA, and now it’s just about repeating. Legends repeat what they did, and so I want to be a legend. I’m not here to just be a champion and then off and away. I’m here to have a household name. When people talk about the NCAA finals match, they remember me. When people talk about a champion and a championship fight, I want to be remembered.”

In order to have a chance, Caldwell (14-6 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) will have to beat Nikita Mikhailov and snap his career-worst three-fight losing streak Feb. 4 at Bellator 290 from the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. He said he’s coming into the bout with a newfound focus on bantamweight after partaking in the promotion’s featherweight grand prix and bouncing between 135 and 145 pounds.

“Yeah, I’m not doing nothing anymore. I’m that focused,” Caldwell said. “For a while I was doing stuff. They had me fighting in the (featherweight) tournament, they wanted me fighting in Japan and over here. Like, I’m focused on taking these guys out at bantamweight again. That’s where I’ve been at, and that’s how I’m preparing.”

And if things go the way he plans at Bellator 290, Caldwell has an idea: How about a fight with featherweight champion Patricio Freire? After all, “Pitbull” has talked about moving down to 135 – and there’s a little bit of built-in beef.

“I hear there’s a dog by the name of ‘Pitbull,’ who’s been talking about coming down to ’35,” Caldwell said. “What better guy than to match him up with. We’ve got a little history. He was talking that stuff like he was gonna come down earlier a couple years ago when I beat up on his little brother. He said he was gonna come fight at 135, and it never happened. Look, just give me that fight. You want to fight somebody at 135, bro, who else to fight but me?”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 2-8)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 2-8.

Bellator 290 main card set for CBS debut; Lorenz Larkin and more added to prelims

Fourteen fights are on tap for Bellator 290 at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader atop the card.

Bellator MMA kicks off its 2023 schedule in a big way with its first fights ever to air on CBS.

Bellator 290 takes place Feb. 4 at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main airs on CBS after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The three-fight main card features three fights already announced, including two title bouts. In the main event, Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) defends his title against all-time great [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA). The bout is pegged as Emelianenko’s final.

The co-main event features middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) as he battles Emelianenko’s training partner [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA). A welterweight bout between all-time Bellator finishers [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Brennan Ward[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) will be the inaugural Bellator bout on CBS.

New preliminary card additions announced by the promotion Friday included a rematch between [autotag]Mukhamed Berkhamov[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), a heavyweight bout between [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA), and former bantamweight champion [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA)

The Isaev vs. Mowry bout was first reported by Severe MMA.

The full Bellator 290 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)

  • Champion Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
  • Champion Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov – for middleweight title
  • Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward

PRELIMINARY CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)

  • Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Lorenz Larkin
  • Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Max Rohskopf
  • Karl Albrektsson vs. Grant Neal
  • Diana Avsaragova vs. Alejandra Lara
  • Darrion Caldwell vs. Nikita Mikhailov
  • Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo
  • Isaiah Hokit vs. Peter Ishiguro
  • Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya

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Bellator 273 pre-event facts: Can Benson Henderson snap career-worst skid?

Former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson enters Saturday’s Bellator 273 on the worst losing skid of his career.

Bellator kicks off its 2022 schedule on Saturday with Bellator 273, which takes place at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A heavyweight championship unification fight is featured in the main event. Reigning divisional kingpin [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (28-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) will face interim titleholder [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) atop the card.

For more on the numbers, check below for 20 pre-event facts about Bellator 273.