Mixed Martial Arts has a complex and sometimes controversial scoring routine. Many people still think that MMA means "no rules" but that's far from being accurate. There are very detailed rules pertaining to MMA fights and even more detailed criteria for scoring an MMA fight. Just like boxing, scores only come into play when a fight has not been finished within the allotted rounds. Here's a brief breakdown of MMA rules and scoring criteria.
How many rounds in an MMA fight?
The number of rounds in an MMA fight varies depending on the type of fight. For example, most professional MMA fights are just three rounds. The only difference is when the fight is for a title, then it becomes five rounds. The two additional rounds (4 and 5) are considered "championship rounds" and you'll often hear commentary use that phrase. In the UFC and sometimes other MMA promotions, the main event of a card is also five rounds, regardless of whether a title is on the line or not. Fights that take place during the PFL Season are always three rounds, regardless of placement on the card. The PFL Finals fights become five rounds.
How long are rounds in MMA?
Professional MMA rounds are five minutes each. Unlike boxing, there is no time difference for men's or women's fights.
Now that you understand how many rounds MMA fighters fight, let's talk about the rules and how they are scored. For MMA fights, there are three judges who score each round individually in a 10-point must system, similar to boxing.
MMA scoring criteria
Judges will score each round based on the following criteria, which can be subjective. Most commonly rounds are scored 10-9, though a particularly dominant round of MMA action could result in a 10-8 round. The scores are collected between each round. Some states have what is called "open scoring" in which the scores are made public and revealed to the fighters throughout the fight.
- Effective striking/grappling
- Octagon control
- Aggressiveness
What types of fouls are there in MMA?
There are several ways a fighter can be deducted points in MMA. Fouls are common and point deductions (or the lack of them) are a hot topic amongst fans. Referees are given the power to deduct a point from a fighter who fouls, though we often see stern warnings given once, twice, or several more times before a point is actually deducted. Some of the most common fouls are things like eye pokes, groin strikes, fence grabs, or unsportsmanlike conduct. Recently a fighter was reprimanded for biting his opponent during a fight. He was pulled from the fight via disqualification and fired from the UFC as a result.
What are the different MMA scoring outcomes?
When it comes to the judge's decision, there are several different ways a fight could be scored.
- Unanimous decision - When all three judges agree on the outcome
- Split decision - When judge's scores reflect different winners
- Draw - When all three judges score a draw
- Majority draw - When only two judges score a draw
- Split draw - When one judge scores the contest for one fighter, another judge scores for the other fighter, and the third judge scores the contest as a draw
The full official MMA rules can be found here.