Formal complaint lodged against Doug Crosby in Nevada after UFC 282 judging controversies

Commission judges are usually insulated from any criticism or consequences for the terrible scorecards they deliver in combat sports events, but the heat is starting to turn up for Doug Crosby, who was involved in several questionable decisions over the past weekend.

Crosby kicked things off on Friday night (Dec. 9, 2022), scoring the Sabatello vs. Stots Bellator interim title fight 50-45 for Sabatello, with the other two judges awarding it to Stots with 48-47 scores. Then he flew from Connecticut to Nevada to judge UFC 282, awarding Paddy Pimblett a 29-28 win over Jared Gordon.

The Mohegan Athletic Department, which oversaw the Bellator event, issued a statement regarding the Sabatello vs. Stots, saying it had, “informed all three judges we will be reviewing the fight together” and that sanctions have been levied in the past against officials, “not performing to the level that is required.”

Now, Crosby is also on the radar with Nevada Athletic Commission. During the latest commission meeting, the floor was opened to public comments and a caller lodged a “formal complaint” against him.

“I’m calling in, not pertaining to any agenda item, but rather to lodge a formal complaint about the judging on UFC 282 that was hosted last weekend in Vegas,” the caller said (via Bloody Elbow). “I want to know, if possible, why Douglas Crosby, in particular, was allowed to judge an event Friday night in the Northeast and then fly across the country Saturday morning, all the way to Vegas, to then judge fights Saturday night and he was deemed mentally fit to do so. It seems a bit ridiculous, in my mind.”

“I think it’s very telling that for the entire tenure, as far as I can tell, of Bob Bennett, when he reigned as NSAC executive director from 2014 to 2021, Crosby was not allowed to judge a UFC event, as far as I can tell, scanning MMA Decisions, and when [current NSAC executive director] Jeff Mullen took his place, that Crosby was suddenly back judging those events. It seems a bit ridiculous.”

“He [Crosby] demonstrated criminal incompetence, in my opinion, judging that event over the weekend and I don’t understand why it was allowed to happen.”

Crosby is not new to controversy.

Chuck Mindenahall wrote an extensive feature on Crosby’s long (and sometimes sordid) history back in 2015, and the judge hasn’t slowed down since then. But, with the expanding blast zone of the current UFC betting scandal only growing, is it crazy to imagine there may finally be some accountability for notoriously bad judges who continue to show up week after week to judge major MMA events?