Ok, so after last night's fight I was thinking how to fix the scoring system in MMA. It is clear that it can't be like in boxing. It just isn't the same output. You have 12 rounds vs mostly 3 rounds, scored mostly 10-9. While in boxing it evens out, in MMA it doesn't. Because of the reduced number of rounds, you have to have a more clear cut difference between a close round, a dominant round, and so on.
First of all, we should reduce the 10 point system to a 5 point system. It is way easier to make a good difference between rounds. So here we go:
5-5 - A round where you can't decide on a clear cut winner. Fighters may feel one another and don't engage so much. A good example that comes to my mind is Round 1 Dos Santos vs Reem. Almost no strikes, Reem had a couple of good punches while Dos Santos was the one pushing forward and controlling the fight.
5-4 - A typical round where one fighter is more dominant then the other. He lands more strikes or the better strikes or he lands some takedowns but the fight isn't no where near to being stopped and the opponent isn't overwhelmed at any point. Moussasi vs Leites rounds from last night.
5-3 - A round where only one fighter clearly dominates his opponent, landing shots over and over again and hurting his opponent. This is not one fighter just landing more than the other, but overwhelming and rocking him either with strikes, or manhandling him with wrestling or grappling. Good examples: Conor vs Holloway round 1, Maia vs Nelson round 2 and 3, Jones vs Shogun, or any round when a fighter is almost finished via submission ( Jones vs Vitor ). I consider almost getting finished by subs not as bad as almost getting finished by strikes because usually it does not affect a fighter's performance later in the fight.
5-2 - A round when a fighter is almost finished by strikes or gnp. He either survives by clinching or he gets saved by the bell. Cormire and Rumble rd 1, Weidman - Rockhold rd 3, Anderson - Bisping rd 3.
5-1 - Something that won't happen often. A round where a fighter gets dropped multiple times but somehow the fight is not stopped. Like Silva vs Griffin but without the stoppage.
Also, if let's say a fighter is dominating a round and is about to be a 5-3 round for fighter A but fighter B manages to connect and drop his opponent at the end of the round it should be like this: 5-3 fighter A for dominating, 5-2 fighter B for almost finishing the fight. Add the numbers and you have a 8-7 round for the fighter that almost finished the fight, and then scale it to a 5-4 round.
So let's take Anderson vs Bisping:
Rd 1: 5-5. They did not really engage, both hit a couple of shots but mostly moving inside the cage.
Rd 2: 5-3 Bisping. He was more aggressive, landed more and rocked Anderson towards the end.
Rd 3: 5-2 Anderson. If not for the bell, the fight would have been over.
Rd 4: 5-4 Bisping. This is hard to decide. Anderson let him recover and even hit him while on the fence, it was an odd round, it could go either way.
Rd 5: 5-4 or 5-3 Anderson. Bisping face was a mess and he was clearly in danger on a couple occasions, when Anderson landed some punches and that front kick that almost dropped him.
Decision: Anderson - Bisping 22 - 20/21. More accurate with how the damage was inflicted during the fight. Yes, Bisping landed more and was more aggressive, but Silva was the one that almost stopped the fight.
I am not saying that this system is perfect, but I think it could be a base for a better way to judge an MMA fight.
First of all, we should reduce the 10 point system to a 5 point system. It is way easier to make a good difference between rounds. So here we go:
5-5 - A round where you can't decide on a clear cut winner. Fighters may feel one another and don't engage so much. A good example that comes to my mind is Round 1 Dos Santos vs Reem. Almost no strikes, Reem had a couple of good punches while Dos Santos was the one pushing forward and controlling the fight.
5-4 - A typical round where one fighter is more dominant then the other. He lands more strikes or the better strikes or he lands some takedowns but the fight isn't no where near to being stopped and the opponent isn't overwhelmed at any point. Moussasi vs Leites rounds from last night.
5-3 - A round where only one fighter clearly dominates his opponent, landing shots over and over again and hurting his opponent. This is not one fighter just landing more than the other, but overwhelming and rocking him either with strikes, or manhandling him with wrestling or grappling. Good examples: Conor vs Holloway round 1, Maia vs Nelson round 2 and 3, Jones vs Shogun, or any round when a fighter is almost finished via submission ( Jones vs Vitor ). I consider almost getting finished by subs not as bad as almost getting finished by strikes because usually it does not affect a fighter's performance later in the fight.
5-2 - A round when a fighter is almost finished by strikes or gnp. He either survives by clinching or he gets saved by the bell. Cormire and Rumble rd 1, Weidman - Rockhold rd 3, Anderson - Bisping rd 3.
5-1 - Something that won't happen often. A round where a fighter gets dropped multiple times but somehow the fight is not stopped. Like Silva vs Griffin but without the stoppage.
Also, if let's say a fighter is dominating a round and is about to be a 5-3 round for fighter A but fighter B manages to connect and drop his opponent at the end of the round it should be like this: 5-3 fighter A for dominating, 5-2 fighter B for almost finishing the fight. Add the numbers and you have a 8-7 round for the fighter that almost finished the fight, and then scale it to a 5-4 round.
So let's take Anderson vs Bisping:
Rd 1: 5-5. They did not really engage, both hit a couple of shots but mostly moving inside the cage.
Rd 2: 5-3 Bisping. He was more aggressive, landed more and rocked Anderson towards the end.
Rd 3: 5-2 Anderson. If not for the bell, the fight would have been over.
Rd 4: 5-4 Bisping. This is hard to decide. Anderson let him recover and even hit him while on the fence, it was an odd round, it could go either way.
Rd 5: 5-4 or 5-3 Anderson. Bisping face was a mess and he was clearly in danger on a couple occasions, when Anderson landed some punches and that front kick that almost dropped him.
Decision: Anderson - Bisping 22 - 20/21. More accurate with how the damage was inflicted during the fight. Yes, Bisping landed more and was more aggressive, but Silva was the one that almost stopped the fight.
I am not saying that this system is perfect, but I think it could be a base for a better way to judge an MMA fight.
