Understanding The UFC Scoring System: A Comprehensive Guide

The UFC follows the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts for scoring their fights. These rules have been in place since July 30th 2009.

Here is a breakdown of how the UFC scoring system work...

A 10-Point Must System 

Each round is scored individually in the UFC using a 10-point must system: the winner of the round will get 10 points while the loser may get 9 or less.

A 10-9 will be awarded if the winner has only a slight edge in the round.

A 10-8 round will be awarded if the winner of the round shows clear dominance either in striking or in grappling. Often, excessive knockdowns or control time will earn a 10-8 round.

10-7 rounds can also be awarded if the round is completely dominated by a fighter, but these instances are extremely rare.

What The Judges Are Looking For In A Round

MMA Judges

This is how the judges score each round and the order in what they prioritise:

1.    Effective striking/grappling

• Striking: Impactful strikes that cause visible damage or have a significant impact on their opponent.
• Grappling: Successful takedowns, effective clinch work, submission attempts or control time.

2.    Effective aggression

The fighter who comes forward looking to initiate things and/or pressures their opponent back towards the cage fence.

3.    Octagon control

Dictating where the fight takes place as well as the pace of the round. This somewhat ties into effective aggression because a fighter could trap their opponent up against the fence the entire round for example - that would tie into both effective aggression and octagon control.

How Many Judges Score A Fight And What Happens If It Goes The Distance?

Rafael Fiziev over Bobby Green//Getty

There are three judges that score a fight, they are positioned proportionally around the octagon.

If a fight goes to the judges scorecards then there are four possible outcomes:

• Unanimous decision: All three judges score the winner of the bout for the same fighter.
• Split decision: Two judges score the winner of the bout for one fighter, the third judge scores it for the other fighter.
• Majority decision: Two judges score the winner of the bout for one fighter while the other judge scores it a draw.
• Draw: One judge scores the winner for “Fighter A”, another scores it for “Fighter B”, while the other judge scores it a draw.

Other Fight Outcomes

There are six ways that a fight can be won before it goes the distance.

• Knockout: A fighter is knocked unconscious via strikes.
• Technical Knockout: The referee steps in and stops the fight because a fighter is not (cannot) intelligently defending themselves.
• Submission: A fighter taps out or verbally tells the referee he wants to quit.
• Technical Submission: If a fighter has been put unconscious by a submission or has a severe injury due to submission then the referee will step in to stop the fight.
• Disqualification: A fighter is disqualified by the referee for breaking the rules: whether it be purposely performing illegal moves or sometimes continuous accidental illegal moves.
• No Contest: The fight is stopped by the referee after an accidental or unforeseen incident that means one or both fighters cannot continue but nor can a winner be decided.