Fighter turned judge Ricardo Almeida discusses avoiding conflicts of interest

Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida’s journey from fighter to coach to judge has been an interesting test case in MMA.

For years, fans and fighters have clamored for those who have competed in the cage to be the ones handing in the official scorecards. However, fighters and coaches make many contacts over the course of their careers, and that leaves the door open to myriad potential conflicts of interest.

As a former King of Pancrase and successful competitor in the UFC, Almeida is probably the most high-profile fighter to end up at the judging table, and he told MMAjunkie that the procedures are in place in New Jersey to minimize the impact of those conflicts.

“(Potential conflicts have) happened a few times, especially since in New Jersey several of the judges are former fighters, or involved in the sport,” Almeida said. “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.”

The system, of course, relies on the members of the judging pool being honest. There have been situations as recently as 2015 where judges have been accused of tipping a fight in the favor of one fighter as an act of revenge.

One might think that having a standing list of conflicts would benefit an athletic commission, but Almeida said it’s an event-by-event situation.

“Each time, the commission asks about possible conflicts,” Almeida said. “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. ”

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