UFC Scoring: The 10-Must Point System Explained for Laymen
Contents
For beginners with surface-level knowledge of UFC fights, it's pretty common to think that a knockout or submission solely determines a victory.
However…
What if neither of these happens? The victory would then be determined by the judge's scorecards, which are based on the Unified Rules of MMA criteria.
Each judge scores every round, then totals the rounds to pick a winner. Here is how it works.
The Basics Of UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded in 1993 and is the biggest MMA organization in the world.
The UFC holds events most weekends, with a numbered event roughly once a month. Title fights and main events are five rounds; other fights are three rounds. Each round lasts five minutes.
Fighters compete in weight divisions: eight for men and three active divisions for women, according to the UFC rankings. Fighters can move up or down a division.
Each division has a champion and a top-15 ranking. Fighters climb the rankings to earn a title shot.
That said, there are many ways a match can end:
1. Submission - A fighter taps the mat or their opponent, or verbally gives up.
2. Technical Submission - A referee stops the match because a fighter loses consciousness or is at risk of serious injury from a hold.
3. Knockout - A fighter becomes unconscious due to a legal strike.
4. Technical Knockout (TKO) - A fighter can no longer intelligently defend themselves. The fight can be stopped by the referee, the ringside doctor, or the fighter's corner.
5. Decision - After all rounds end, the match is decided by the UFC judges' scorecards using the 10-point must system.
6. Forfeit - A fighter fails to show up for the bout or withdraws before it starts.
7. Disqualification - A fighter intentionally does an illegal move that endangers their opponent, resulting in the latter's victory. This also applies if the fighter continues to break rules after being warned.
8. Technical Decision - A fighter unintentionally does an illegal move, making their opponent unable to continue fighting. However, there are sufficient finished rounds for the judges to make a technical decision. It's still possible for the injured fighter to win if they score higher.
9. No Contest - This has the same circumstances as a technical decision, except there aren't enough finished rounds to be judged. A fight may also be ruled as no contest due to illegal or unsatisfactory circumstances, such as a fighter testing positive for doping.
The Scoring System
When a fight goes to a decision, here is how it is scored. Three judges score each round using the 10-point must system: the winner of the round must receive 10 points, and the loser receives 9 or fewer.
There are instances where both fighters are tied, which we'll discuss later.
This scoring system is based on the Unified Rules of MMA, which specify the criteria judges would use to decide who wins the round. These criteria include:
1. Effective Striking - Legal strikes that have an immediate or cumulative impact on the opponent. Under the official judging criteria, immediate impact, such as a knockdown, weighs more heavily than cumulative damage. Impact matters more than volume.
2. Effective Grappling - Takedowns, reversals, submission attempts, and advantageous positions that produce impact.
3. Effective Aggressiveness - Aggressively making attempts to finish the fight. Chasing an opponent without effective results does not count.
4. Fighting Area Control/Octagon Control - Who dictates the pace, place, and position of the fight.
Opponent about to strike his contender
Effective striking and grappling come first. Judges only consider aggressiveness if striking and grappling are completely even, and they only use octagon control if both of those are even, which is very rare.
So a fighter who walks forward and controls the center can still lose the round if the opponent lands the more damaging strikes.
That said, the scoring is entirely based on the judges' opinions on how well a fighter performed during a round. There are no hard and fast rules that successfully executing a technique will earn you a set number of points.
At the end of the match, the judges' score for each round is combined to decide a winner. It may look something like this:
Let's see what these scores mean in greater detail:
10-10
A 10-10 round means there was no difference or advantage between the fighters.
The official criteria call it extremely rare. If there is any discernible difference between the two fighters, the judge should not score it 10-10.
10-9
A 10-9 is the most common score. It goes to the fighter who won the round by a close margin, even if by just one technique.
10-8
A 10-8 means one fighter won the round by a large margin. Judges look at dominance, duration, and impact.
Dominance means the opponent spends the round defending, with little or no offense of their own.
A 10-8 can also be given for impact alone, when one fighter's strikes or grappling clearly diminish the opponent, even without dominating the whole round.
10-7
A 10-7 means one fighter completely overwhelmed the other, with multiple impactful blows or knockdowns, or dominant grappling, to the point where a stoppage could be warranted.
Judges rarely give this score. A round that lopsided usually ends in a stoppage before the judges ever score it.
Possible Decision Outcomes
Now, let's look at the ways a UFC fight can end based on the judges' decision:
1. Unanimous Decision - All three judges scored in favor of the same fighter. This is the most common type of decision.
2. Majority Decision - Two judges scored in favor of the same fighter, whereas one judge scored a draw.
3. Split Decision - Two judges scored in favor of Fighter A, whereas the other judge scored in favor of Fighter B.
4. Unanimous Draw - All judges scored the match as a draw.
5. Majority Draw - Two judges scored a draw, whereas the other judge scored it a win for one fighter.
6. Split Draw - The first judge scored in favor of Fighter A, the second scored in favor of Fighter B, and the third judge scored it a draw.
7. Technical Draw - A fight stopped by an accidental foul after enough rounds have been completed, where the scorecards come out even.
It's worth mentioning that if a title match results in a draw, the defending champion retains their title.
Effects Of Violations On Scores
Fouls can also change the result. The referee can take a point away from a fighter who commits a foul, even if that fighter won the round. Only the referee can call a foul; judges should not penalize a foul the referee did not call.
According to the UFC's published rules, the official scorekeeper applies the deduction to calculate the true score.
However, if the foul ends up disabling the opponent, the match will end in disqualification (intentional), no contest (unintentional + insufficient finished rounds), or technical decision (unintentional + sufficient finished rounds).
Some fouls are physically dangerous, such as groin attacks, throat strikes, or (under the rules the UFC publishes) the downward "12-to-6" elbow.
Meanwhile, others are concerned with negative demeanor, such as spitting at the opponent, using abusive language, or faking an injury. You can check the full list of illegal moves on the official UFC website.
Knock-Out Point: Wondering what the numbers in UFC event names mean? Read our post: UFC Number Meaning.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What do the three numbers mean in UFC?
If you mean scores like 29-28, 30-27, 29-28: those are the three judges' totals for the whole fight, one per judge.
How is the scoring done in UFC?
Each of the three judges scores every round on their own. If the fight goes the distance, each judge's round scores are totaled, and the fighter who wins on the most scorecards wins.
Judges use effective striking/grappling first, then effective aggressiveness, then fighting area control.
Can takedowns score you points?
Not directly. MMA judges do not award a set number of points per technique. A successful takedown counts toward effective grappling, especially if it leads to damage or a dominant position.
A takedown with no follow-up may count for little if the opponent lands the more impactful strikes in the same round.
Conclusion
The UFC has helped promote mixed martial arts globally. That said, learning about the scoring system is one crucial step toward understanding how UFC fights work.
Judging involves human judgment, and close fights can produce disputed decisions. Knowing the criteria (impact first, then aggressiveness, then control) helps you score fights the way the judges are trained to.
Sources
- Official MMA Judging Criteria, Association of Boxing Commissions
- Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, UFC
- UFC Rankings, UFC
