Decisions in combat sports

Last updated

In combat sports, a decision is a result of the fight or bout that does not end in a knockout, submission or other finish, in which the (usually) three judges' scorecards are consulted to determine the winner; a majority of judges must agree on a result. The judges' result can either award a win, loss, or draw.

Contents

If no judges are in attendance for scoring and the fight reaches the time limit with no finish, the fight goes to no decision.

Scoring

If a fight reaches the time limit with no finish, the outcome of fight is decided based on the judges' scorecards. In most professional boxing and mixed martial arts fights, there are three judges.

In a "ten-point system", a judge must award the fighter whom they judged as having "won the round" ten points, while the other fighter receives nine points or fewer. If a judge feels that there was no clear winner in a round, they must award both fighters ten points. This does not include point deductions from referees; rounds where neither fighter scores ten points can occur.

At the end of the bout, each judge will tally the scores to determine which fighter had won, if any, according to the judge's tally; a fighter that "won" a majority of rounds usually emerges with more points. If a fighter ends up with a higher number of points, that fighter "won" on that judge's scorecard. A fighter has to "win" on at least two scorecards to win the fight. If neither fighter "won" on at least two scorecards, the match is a draw; in championship fights, the champion usually retains the title in a draw, if not, it is "vacated" - the title belongs to no fighter and is vacant. The scores do not necessarily have to be identical in unanimous decisions.

Summary

Judges' scorecards winnerScorecards tallyDecisionFight resultExample
RedBlueDraw
RedRedRed300 Unanimous decision Red corner wins Mike Tyson vs. Tony Tucker
drawBlueBlue021 Majority decision Blue corner wins Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez III
BlueRedRed210 Split decision Red corner wins Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather
BlueReddraw111 Split draw Tie (draw) Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis
drawdrawRed102 Majority draw Tie (draw) Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal
drawdrawdraw003 Unanimous draw Tie (draw) Chris John vs. Rocky Juarez I

Other decisions

Related Research Articles

Samuel Serrano is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1984 and made a two-fight comeback from 1996 to 1997. He was a two-time super featherweight world champion, having held the WBA title twice between 1976 and 1983.

No contest is a technical term used in some combat sports to describe a fight that ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands, without a winner or loser. The concept carried over to professional wrestling, where it is far more common, usually scripted to further a feud, generate heat and/or protect a push.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Antonio Barrera</span> Mexican boxer

Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes between 1995 and 2007, from super bantamweight to super featherweight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquess of Queensberry Rules</span> Vintage rules system for boxing

The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensbury Rules, are a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. Drafted in London in 1865 and published in 1867, they were named so as the 9th Marquess of Queensberry publicly endorsed the code, although they were written by a Welsh sportsman named John Graham Chambers from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. The code of rules on which modern boxing is based, the Queensberry rules were the first to mandate the use of gloves in boxing.

A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt.

Shoot boxing is both a combat sport and a stand-up fighting promotion company based in Tokyo, Japan. The organization was founded by former kickboxer Caesar Takeshi in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional boxing</span> Full contact combat sport

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory authority to guarantee the fighters' safety. Most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a sanctioning body, which awards championship belts, establishes rules, and assigns its own judges and referees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur boxing</span> Boxing by non-professionals

Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cage Rage Championships</span> Mixed martial arts promoter based in UK

Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and managed by Elite XC until that company ceased operating, and the British promoters behind Cage Rage formed a new organization and withdrew all the old Cage Rage titles. Matchmaker and on-screen personality Dave O'Donnell was also a minority shareholder in the company. Fellow on-screen personality and co-promoter Andy Geer also owned a minority stake until he left the promotion in 2008. Cage Rage events were replayed on Nuts TV, along with their own weekday show on The Fight Network until these channels closed down. Every Cage Rage event and bout is now archived as part of the UFC Fight Pass library.

Miguel Santana is a former boxer from Puerto Rico. Santana was born in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximum Fighting Championship</span> MMA promoter based in Edmonton, Canada

Maximum Fighting Championship is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC’s former home, in Canada, is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, located just outside Edmonton, Alberta, but has also held events at the Edmonton Expo Centre. MFC events are broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV in North America and most recently TSN2.

Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very different tactics and strategies. Similarly, shoot wrestling organizations, such as Shooto, expanded their rulesets to integrate elements of Vale Tudo into their sport. However, for the most part, fighters accustomed to one rule set can easily acclimate to the others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Reality Combat Championship</span> MMA promoter based in Philippines

Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) is the first and only professional mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, Philippines on November 23, 2002. The URCC is under the supervision of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the government agency that sanctions games such as billiards, boxing and basketball. The URCC was founded in 2002 by Filipino BJJ Black belt [[Alvin Aguilar] ]Franz von Muhlfeld, Jed Dario and Irwin Tieng. The matches and events of the URCC aired on ABS-CBN Sports and Action and ABS-CBN Sports and Action HD, URCC's official broadcast partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fight Club</span> MMA promoter based in Edmonton, Alberta

The Fight Club is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. TFC currently fights at the Shaw Conference Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan Fighting Championships</span> American mixed martial arts events series

Titan Fighting Championship is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and eventually, international locations. Since July 2015, Titan FC events are broadcast on the UFC online streaming service UFC Fight Pass, which also showcases a library of the organization's previous events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting</span> MMA promoter based in Detroit, Michigan

The Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting (WXC) is a Michigan-based mixed martial arts promotion and is one of the smallest promotions in the world. Based in the United States, the WXC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Norbert Pasztor serves as the president of the WXC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Series of Fighting: Canada</span> Canadian MA promoter based in Edmonton, Canada

World Series of Fighting (Canada) formerly Aggression Fighting Championship, Aggression MMA and Armageddon Fighting Championship is a Canadian Mixed Martial Arts promotion based out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The promotions made their debuts in 2009. Armageddon Fighting Championship and Aggression MMA merged in 2012 to create Aggression Fighting Championship. In September 2013, World Series of Fighting purchased the Aggression Fighting Championship organization to enter the Canadian market, but it was later found out the AFC executives closed down the company to join a new organization WSOF Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Series of Fighting: Central America</span> MMA promoter based in Nicaragua

World Series of Fighting (Central America) formerly Omega MMA is a Nicaraguan Mixed Martial Arts promotion based out of Managua, Nicaragua. The promotion made its debut on May 3, 2013. In the Summer of 2013, Omega MMA was quietly purchased by WSOF, and was rebranded as World Series of Fighting: Central America. The promotion held its first event on July 27, 2013, headlined by former boxing world champion Ricardo Mayorga.

Rumble on the Rock was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company in promotion with K-1 and operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group and Rumble World Entertainment. Headquartered Hawaii, Rumble on the Rock was formed in 2003 and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts with events structured around tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road Fighting Championship</span> MMA promoter based in South Korea

Road Fighting Championship is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China.