NSAC to allow limited non-title 5 round bouts
Link to NSAC document The commission also passed a regulation that allows for five-round non-title bouts in MMA between two…
The commission also passed a regulation that allows for five-round non-title bouts in MMA between two athletes, “as long as, of course, they are of championship caliber,� according to Executive Director Keith Kizer.
The move to allow non-title bouts to go to a five-round duration basically puts MMA on par with boxing in such regards. There are often marquee non-title bouts in boxing, such as the upcoming Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Márquez, that are scheduled for the same 12-round duration as a title bout.
This opens things up for promotions such as the UFC to have marquee bouts on a fight card that are not-title bouts, such as the recent UFC 99 bout between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva, but still have them go five full rounds.
