Improving MMA

[Booksmasher]

What would MMA be like if we just changed the following round criteria:

1. A fighter can only win a round by turning his opponent into a harmless punching bag (who is just absorbing unnecessary significant damage without being a threat anymore) but got saved by the bell. Examples: Tony Ferguson somewhere in the 5th round against Gaethje. Or Hooker against Barboza.

2. All rounds where that does not happen are scored as Draws

Benefits:
-Wins are real wins
-No doubts and controversies
-No lay and pray
-More exciting fighters

 

[Curmudgeon]

Those would be horrible changes and I base that on nothing.

 

[SuperNerd]

Good one.

 

[Straatblaffer]

Sounds like you spend some serious time in this masterplan.

 

[Sticko]

I do think there should be somewhat more draws but only because the fights are really even. This likely wouldn't work and would have negative consequences

How would grappling and submission attempts factor into this? How would you define lay and pray?
- which of GSP's dominant victories should still count as wins in your opinion?
- what about Khabib v Trujillo, where Khabib took down Trujillo a record 21 times? Draw?
- or Bryce Mitchell v Charles Rosa, where Mitchell won a 30-24 decision purely based on grappling? Draw?
- what about a stand-up war like Cub Swanson v. Kron Gracie, where both men took a bunch of damage? Draw?

 

[Booksmasher]

How would grappling and submission attempts factor into this?

Well a submission attempt is useless if the opponent is able to escape it

How would you define lay and pray?

Being in topposition and not doing anything significant to end the fight (Sub or GnP TKO)

- which of GSP's dominant victories should still count as wins in your opinion?

Well thats the whole problem. I dont consider those dominant victories. Dominant victories should not be outpointing or just being in topposition. It should be beating the hell out of your opponent or submitting him.

- what about Khabib v Trujillo, where Khabib took down Trujillo a record 21 times? Draw?

Yes, draw. What are you achieving with 21 takedowns? One takedown and keeping the guy down is much more impressive.

- or Bryce Mitchell v Charles Rosa, where Mitchell won a 30-24 decision purely based on grappling? Draw?

Havent seen it

- what about a stand-up war like Cub Swanson v. Kron Gracie, where both men took a bunch of damage? Draw?

Well you can answer it yourself, I gave you the criteria. Damage itself is not enough if it doesnt lead to fight ending scenarios.

 

[Ether13]

Kumite rules

 

[swiftasthewind]

maybe 2 eye pokes = disqualification ?

 

[GOATtalks]

Well a submission attempt is useless if the opponent is able to escape it



Being in topposition and not doing anything significant to end the fight (Sub or GnP TKO)



Well thats the whole problem. I dont consider those dominant victories. Dominant victories should not be outpointing or just being in topposition. It should be beating the hell out of your opponent or submitting him.



Yes, draw. What are you achieving with 21 takedowns? One takedown and keeping the guy down is much more impressive.



Havent seen it



Well you can answer it yourself, I gave you the criteria. Damage itself is not enough if it doesnt lead to fight ending scenarios.

You do like Mortal Kombat right? You would probably also enjoy fatality and brutality finishes in real life. It’s a sport, not human cockfighting ffs

 

[Hellowhosthat]

What would MMA be like if we just changed the following round criteria:

1. A fighter can only win a round by turning his opponent into a harmless punching bag (who is just absorbing unnecessary significant damage without being a threat anymore)

2. All rounds where that does not happen are scored as Draws

Benefits:
-Wins are real wins
-No doubts and controversies
-No lay and pray
-More exciting fighters

Let's install a blood monitoring system. You can't win the fight unless you extract at least 3 pints of blood from your opponent. If you KO or sub him then you need to start hitting them with elbows so you can get the amount of blood you need to get.

You can also only submit by shitting yourself and the ref has to check.

 

[Everbest]

More draws should be given. The very close fights and split decisions are often inconclusive. MMA is not an old olympic sport like boxing and wasn't created to be such. The scoring system is important for obvious fights. But they need a 4th judge in case of split decisions who can determine that the thing was just a draw.

It will suck and people will hate it. But soccer is used to draws......MMA looks a lot like soccer in this sense. A lot of fights have no clear winner.

Just give out more draws and schedule more rematches.

 

[Booksmasher]

You do like Mortal Kombat right? You would probably also enjoy fatality and brutality finishes in real life. It’s a sport, not human cockfighting ffs

Where is the problem? I am just making the margin between the two fighters bigger. If one fighter is getting a beating but he is saved by the bell, he loses the round. Easy.

 

[Sticko]

That's the problem with your idea, Kron-Swanson was a very exciting fight, lots of action. Swanson clearly won, but it wasn't a one-sided beatdown and nobody got finished. Calling it a draw seems like a bad result

Watch Rosa-Mitchell and get back to me. Rosa is a BJJ black belt but was so thoroughly outclassed that at one point he even asked Mitchell during the fight if they could stand back up. Almost no punches thrown though.

 

[Sticko]

And calling Khabib-Trujillo a draw is ridiculous.

 

[Booksmasher]

That's the problem with your idea, Kron-Swanson was a very exciting fight, lots of action. Swanson clearly won, but it wasn't a one-sided beatdown and nobody got finished. Calling it a draw seems like a bad resultwhooping".

Yes but you are proofing my point. You should only get a Decision Win by demonstrating a superior beatdown so you could claim "Kron got his a.. whooped". It will give more value to a W.

Now people still can claim:
"Kron was never in deep trouble"

 

[Booksmasher]

And calling Khabib-Trujillo a draw is ridiculous.

Trujillo just got a wrestling class

 

[SteveColdStone]

Just get some competent judges and refs and I will be happy

 

[Booksmasher]

Just get some competent judges and refs and I will be happy

But the current ruleset itself is still a problem. They will never give draw rounds, even if its so so so close...unfair

 

[Magooglie]

Leg to head attacks on the ground.

 

[SteveColdStone]

But the current ruleset itself is still a problem. They will never give draw rounds, even if its so so so close...unfair

I don’t care about draw rounds. I think they’re lazy. There’s very few instances where I feel a round should have been scored a draw. We’re just going to have judges finding a cop out so that they don’t have to make a big call and they will instead score the round a draw. Draws could create a logjam in the divisions too.