Ray Cooper III blasts MMA judges ahead of PFL semifinals: “They don’t know what the hell they’re doing”

Welterweight contender Ray Cooper III blasted MMA judges ahead of the PFL semifinals, saying “they don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”

The winner of the $1 million grand prize in the PFL season two welterweight tournament, Cooper takes on Rory MacDonald in the semifinals of the promotion’s third season in August. The only reason the bracket is the way it is is that MacDonald lost a controversial split decision to Gleison Tibau in his second regular-season fight. It was an extremely controversial call by the judges, and MacDonald has publicly blasted the judges himself. Now, his opponent Cooper is coming to his defense as well following the bad decision.

Speaking to LowKick MMA, Cooper criticized MMA judges for making bad calls that affect fighters’ careers. With fighters such as Miranda Maverick and MacDonald recently being involved in extremely controversial losses, Cooper believes something needs to be done.

“I think (MacDonald) etched out a decision. That goes to show you can’t leave it in the judges’ hands. I was disappointed that my fight went to a decision too (against Nikolay Aleksakhin). These judges aren’t fighters, they don’t know any aspect of the game, and it’s a tough topic because these guys are ruining peoples lives with their decision making,” Cooper said, before continuing to go off on the judges.

“They don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They should have real MMA fighters, not boxing fighters or boxing judges. This isn’t boxing. MMA people will be the only ones who will know about it. It’s weird, and someone needs to change this. Randy (Couture) would be great because he’s been a pioneer for the sport and knows the ins and outs of fighting,” Cooper suggested.

Do you agree with Ray Cooper III that the judging in MMA is in serious need of changes?