Question: I recently started watching MMA fights and the UFC fights on pay per view. I was wondering what criteria the judges use when determining the winner of a fight. There have been a few I've seen when I was very surprised who the judges chose as the winner.
- Delayne P


Answer: According to the MMA Unified Rules of Conduct a MMA bout is scored using a 10-point system that is standard in this sport. There are usually three judges used to evaluate each fight, concentrating on MMA techniques, such as striking, grappling, control of the fight, control of the fighting area, aggressiveness and defense against sprawling and take downs.
During the bout, judges will look keenly for which fighter has the most effective striking, total number of strikes that landed and damage caused by striking. When it comes to grappling judges take into account whether execution of take-downs are effective, followed by mounting positions and the techniques used while in the dominate position, e.g. ground and pound or submission attempts. Also, if a fighter is taken to the mat is he able to complete a reversal to gain a dominate position or is he effective from the bottom position by being active.
Fighting area control is judged by determining who is dictating the pace, location and position of the bout. At the end of the match, judges take into account all they have recorded during the three or five rounds. If the fight hasn’t been stopped by a KO, a TKO, a submission or a doctor stoppage, it goes to a decision.

Scores:

10-9 round
A fighter will score a 10 if he has the greatest number of effective strikes, grappling, take-downs, and other techniques. The other fighter will score a 9, if the round was close.
10-8 round:
When a fighter overwhelmingly dominates a round with strikes, grappling, take-downs and submission attempts, he will earn a 10. The other fighter will earn 8.
Decisions:
If all three judges deem one fighter the winner this is a unanimous decision.

A split decision occurs when two judges score the bout for one fighter, but the third judge has a higher score for the opposite opponent.

If two judges score the bout for the same fighter, but one judge scores the fight as a draw this is called a majority decision.

Many times people don’t agree with the way judges score a bout, so as Dana White always says, “Never leave a fight in the hands of the judges.”
Answer given by: Jillian Bullock