UFC 332 Judging Controversy: Henry Cejudo Calls for AI to Score MMA Fights

The UFC 332 judging controversy has opened a much bigger debate about how MMA fights should be scored in the future.

Natalia Silva defeated Wang Cong by unanimous decision in the UFC 332 main event to become the new women’s flyweight champion. The official judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in Silva’s favor.

While the result officially gave Silva the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title, the scorecards quickly became a talking point among MMA fans and fighters.

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has now taken the debate even further, suggesting that artificial intelligence could eventually play a role in judging MMA fights.

Henry Cejudo Wants AI Judging in the UFC

Cejudo criticized the way the Silva vs. Wang fight was scored and questioned whether traditional judging is capable of accurately measuring everything that happens inside the Octagon.

His solution? AI judging.

Cejudo argued that modern technology could potentially track strikes, their accuracy and where they land, creating a more objective way of evaluating fights. He even suggested technology could eventually be incorporated into gloves to help identify the impact and location of significant strikes.

The idea may sound futuristic, but it raises a serious question for MMA:

Could artificial intelligence eventually make UFC judging more accurate?

Why UFC 332 Scorecards Created Debate

The UFC 332 main event was competitive, particularly during the later rounds.

Silva ultimately secured the unanimous decision and captured the vacant women’s flyweight championship. However, the difference between the scorecards made the fight more interesting from a judging perspective.

Two judges scored the contest 48-47, while another gave Silva a much wider 49-46 score.

That difference illustrates one of the biggest problems with MMA judging: two people can watch the same fight and interpret the effectiveness of certain moments differently.

Damage, effective striking, grappling, aggression and control can all influence how a round is evaluated.

And when a championship is on the line, every round matters.

Can AI Really Judge an MMA Fight?

AI judging could potentially bring more data into the scoring process.

Technology could theoretically measure factors such as:

• Significant strikes landed
• Strike accuracy
• Target location
• Knockdowns
• Takedowns
• Control time
• Grappling exchanges
• Fight-changing moments

But MMA is not simply a numbers game.

A fighter could land more strikes without necessarily doing more meaningful damage. A takedown in one situation can be completely different from a takedown that leads to dangerous ground-and-pound.

That is where AI judging becomes complicated.

An algorithm would have to understand context, not simply count statistics.

The Biggest Problem With Human Judges

Human judging has been debated throughout MMA for years.

Judges sit outside the cage and have to make extremely fast decisions based on what they see during every round. Small moments can influence how a close round is interpreted.

That creates the possibility of controversial decisions.

The UFC already publishes official scorecards after its events, allowing fans to see exactly how judges scored individual rounds.

The UFC 332 controversy therefore touches on a much bigger question:

Should technology assist judges instead of completely replacing them?

That may be the more realistic future.

Could AI Assist UFC Judges Instead of Replacing Them?

Rather than allowing AI to decide the winner by itself, the UFC could potentially use technology as an additional judging tool.

For example, an AI system could provide judges with objective information about striking accuracy, impact and other measurable elements while the judges retain the authority to interpret the fight.

This could create a hybrid system:

Human judgment + AI data = potentially better scoring.

Such a system could also help reduce disagreements between judges.

However, it would need extensive testing before becoming part of official UFC scoring.

UFC 332 Was Bigger Than Just the Judging Debate

Despite the controversy surrounding the scorecards, UFC 332 was an action-packed event.

The card produced 11 finishes across 14 fights, while Natalia Silva established herself as the new women’s flyweight champion.

Silva also extended her UFC record to 9-0 and her overall winning streak to 15 fights, giving the division a new champion and several potential future matchups.

Wang Cong, meanwhile, remains an important name in the division after pushing the new champion through five rounds.

Will AI Change UFC Judging?

Henry Cejudo’s comments may sound extreme, but the underlying question is becoming increasingly relevant.

Technology is already changing almost every part of professional sports. From performance tracking to instant replay and advanced statistics, athletes and organizations increasingly rely on data.

MMA judging could eventually follow the same path.

The UFC may not replace judges with AI anytime soon, but AI-assisted judging could become a serious discussion if technology becomes capable of accurately measuring damage and fight impact.

For now, the UFC 332 main event has once again reminded fans why judging remains one of MMA’s most debated subjects.

And if Cejudo is right, the future of UFC judging could look very different from what fans see today.

Final Verdict

The UFC 332 judging controversy is bigger than one decision.

It has reignited the debate over whether MMA needs better judging technology and whether AI judging in the UFC could eventually reduce controversial scorecards.

Human judges are unlikely to disappear overnight. But as technology becomes more sophisticated, the possibility of AI assisting UFC judges is becoming much harder to dismiss.

The real question is no longer simply “Who won the round?”

It could soon become:

“What does the data say?”