UFC President Dana White is displaying the creativity and wits that has helped grow the UFC into the most popular MMA organization in the world. Speaking on The Ultimate Fighter Aftermath, White said he wants to explore the possibility of adding an overtime round to eliminate draws.
“I hate draws,” White said, as noted by MMA Fighting. “I think it’s just such a waste of everybody’s time and energy. It’s something that I would definitely explore.”
Even though particulars would have to be worked out, I think it’s a great idea. Say they go to the cards and find out the judges have it as draw, why not go to an extra round to see if a winner can be established?
This year alone we’ve seen Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fight to a draw at UFC 125, and B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch do the same in the main event at UFC 127. Wouldn’t it have been much more satisfying for fans if there were an extra round to break the tie? Overtimes and tie-breakers are used in pretty much every other major sport, so why not MMA?
Like White said, draws are a big waste of everybody’s time. When two fighters meet in the Octagon, we want to see a winner. Anything that helps achieve that outcome while maintaining a safe environment for fighters sounds like a good idea to me.
