In the main event of UFC 195, Robbie Lawler successfully defended his UFC welterweight title against Carlos Condit, via split decision. The judges were unanimous in all rounds but 3, but that third round made all the difference. Most of the media and UFC president Dana White saw Condit winning the bout, according to how bouts are scored.
In an impassioned series of tweets, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan called for change in scoring criteria.
Joe Rogan @joerogan
•MMA’s scoring badly needs an upgrade. There’s no way the 5th and 3rd rounds should generate the same score last night.
•When his back is against the wall @Ruthless_RL brings it like no other. That 5th round was a thing of violent beauty.
•The idea that we continue to use boxing’s 10 point must system for a completely different sport is inexcusable at this stage.
•Imagine how goofy football would be if quarters were scored as equal 10 – 9 rounds regardless of how much more scoring was done in each.
•Submissions and KO’s will always be the most definitive ways to win fights but we should know exactly what points are based on at this stag
•I think MMA could also benefit from more judges scoring a huge fight. 3 people deciding huge championship decisions doesn’t seem smart.
The Unified Rules of MMA borrow the 10-Point Must scoring method from boxing – the winner gets 10, and the loser gets 9, or, occasionally 8. The scoring is decided by four criteria: Effective Aggression, Defense, Ring Generalship, and Clean and hard punching.
The real question in a boxing match though, is who hurt who more. Never the less, over the course of 12 rounds, this is a solid way of measuring who won. However, in MMA, with just 3 or 5 rounds, it is not always a good way to tell who actually won.
The 10 Point Must system is not the only potential scoring system available. For example, Matt Hume, who may know more about mixed martial arts than any man alive, created a different scoring system for PRIDE, that relied primarily on Damage. This method is currently in use in Asia’s leading MMA promotion, ONE Championship. Other scoring systems are possible too. Korea’s ROAD FC for example has implemented a scoring system, based on counting clean strikes, takedowns, etc.
The Unified Rules are set by the Association of Boxing Commissions. Should sufficient dissatisfaction arise with the Unified Rules, alternate rules could be explored.
Highlights from the fight that sparked Rogan’s tweets:
