The 10-5 Scoring System

[BoooooooM]

Flaws in the Current Scoring System

• MMA cannot be scored like boxing. Too many variables. Not enough rounds.
• Each round means too much. If you lose one round you HAVE to win the next 2.
• Lose 2 rounds and you MUST get the KO/sub to win.
• Rewards safe fighters.
• It forces fighters to focus on winning the round instead of winning the fight
• Rounds where nothing happens are worth as much as rounds where lots of damage occurs. Why do more damage if u cant get the finish? Save energy for next round.(10-8 rounds never happen, especially in fights that matter)
• Refs are too afraid to deduct points knowing they will ruin the outcome of the fight. Instead they warn a fighter 5x. And usually still wont deduct a point.
• The 10 point must rule is broken. Why does one fighter need to have a 10 at the end of the round?
• Fighters become position fighters. They are more worried about keeping dominant position the entire fight, than actually fighting. I don't watch MMA to see fighters keep dominant positions for 15 minutes.
• Fight a style to impress the judges.
• Position is scored way too heavily. Fighters know this and abuse it.

This is as close as you can get to scoring a fight as a whole while still having a legit system to score that everyone can understand.

Damage

Everyone starts the round with 10 points. Both fighters lose points according to how much damage they take. Many rounds will end up being 8 - 7, 9 - 8, 7 - 7. Any score is possible, from 10-10 to 5 - 5. It all depends on what occurs in the round. This will encourage fighters to do more damage in rounds they have already won.

10 - Nothing significant happened.
9 - Light damage
8 -
7 - Medium damage
6 -
5 - Heavy damage


Position

This alone ruins fights. Take position completely out of the scoring system. No other sport gives you points for being in good position. Being in good position all fight allows you to score points. If you can't score points in a good position, well, that's your fault. Fighters are afraid to go for submissions because they might wind up with their opponent in a dominant position. In a close round this could give away the round to the other fighter, and possibly the entire fight. Fighters will be more willing to go for dangerous submissions/transitions because they know the other fighter can't hurt them even if they get top control.


Submissions

Points will be scored for submissions that get locked in and have the possibility to end the fight. Serious submission attempts will also be lightly rewarded. Any move that puts your opponent in danger and gives you the possibility to win a fight will be rewarded. This will encourage fighters to go for submissions instead of just "holding dominant position". Fighters will not be scared to give up positional advantage because they won't lose a close round if they wind up in a bad position. It'll be more worthwhile to attempt a submission because they can score more points this way. This will give more opportunities for both fighters to transition and make reversals. This is the overall basis for the system. I am not qualified to go in-depth into submission scoring.


Examples:

Round 1- Nothing crazy happens but Fighter A lands a few more punches and landed a few significant strikes.

Fighter A 9-8 Fighter B 8-9

Round 2 - Fighter A is able to take Fighter B down and control him for most of the round. He lands some GnP but doesn't do that much damage.

Fighter A 10-8 Fighter B 8-10

Round 3 - Fighter B knows hes losing the fight and comes out strong. Its back and forth for the first minute. Suddenly he lands a huge punch which visibly rocks his opponent. He rushes and lands a fury of strikes but is unable to finish. Fighter B dominates the rest of the round so bad everyone expects the fight to be stopped, but it goes to a decision.

Fighter A 5-9 Fighter B 9-5

Fighter B wins 25-24

The fight went to a decision, however fighter B was still able to win the fight despite losing the first two rounds.



Pros of the 10-5 Scoring System

• Fighters are heavily rewarded for dominating a round.
• Fighters are rewarded for doing lots of damage
• Rounds where nothing happens are not scored as significantly as rounds where lots of action occurs
• You can lose the first two rounds and still win a decision.
• Winning the round isn't as important.
• Fights will now be scored more as a whole than as a round.
• Judges aren't forced to give away a very very close round to a fighter. Scoring a round equal (7- 7) is encouraged if the round was actually a draw despite lots of action occurring.
• Allows for point deductions to be made without ruining the fight.
• Position is no longer scored. You have to do damage to score points.

I love MMA, but i am tired of fights being ruined by the scoring system. It makes judging difficult, which leads to bad decisions. Smart fighters abuse the system to get easy wins. It discourages action. MMA needs a wide range in scoring because there are too many variables in a round. Rounds can be very very close and judges should not be forced to give a fighter a round just because he has to. Also if a round is very close they usually end up giving it to the guy who had better position, even if he did nothing with that position. In football if you get in the red zone every time you have the ball, but never score, you get nada. You don't get points for being "close". You get points for scoring fucking points. Changing the scoring system will make MMA significantly better than any judging or rules change.




Cliff Notes

• Everyone starts the round with 10 points.
• Rounds are primarily scored based on damage done. The more damage you do, the lower your opponents score for the round.
• Your score in a round is lowered due to the amount of damage received in a round.
• There is no 10 point must system
• Rounds can be scored 8-7, 6-6, 10-5. Its based on how much damage you dish out and receive.
• Allows for point deductions to be called by the ref and it won't ruin the fight.
• Most rounds in close fights will probably be 8-7, 7-6, 7-7 type rounds.
• Position is completely taken out of the scoring system. (Dominant position is its own reward. If you can't score points in dominant position, that's your fault)
• Makes it possible to win a round from bottom position. (If you do more damage/more active, you deserve the round)
• Submission attempts are the only other way to score points other than damage.
• This makes the fight feel like its being scored as a whole, while still having a legit scoring system the casual fan can understand.

 

[SewerPirate]

I never understand why the assumed solution to the scoring system is to dramatically alter it.

 

[Kneeuinthenutz]

Once everyone grasps that it's literally impossible to accurately quantify the complexity of what is taking place with points, and awarding individual rounds is the day we can actually fix the scoring system.

 

[epathebay]

scoring system sucks period.

 

[EndlessCritic]

This explains why all the UFC champions fight so safe, like Cain, and Jones, and Barao. They aren't really the best fighters on the planet, they just exploit the rules to win.

Right? Right?

 

[GordaoPreguico]

You say boxing scoring doesn't work but then say no other sport rewards position. That's a flaw in your argument. Also wrestling does reward for position (riding time).

But I agree with the argument that the current system doesn't work for 3 rounds.

 

[Hanoi Rox]

I never understand why the assumed solution to the scoring system is to dramatically alter it.

Agreed. The actual point system is fine, its just unitized very poorly. Almost every room is scored 10-9. What we need it more 10-10, 10-8, and even 10-7 rounds.

Also, control should be deemphasized and damage, aggression, and attempt to finish the fight should be the main criteria (in that order) for scoring a fight.

 

[Truebeliever]

I've always wondered what the point of a "10 point must" system is if you only use 3 fucking numbers.

 

[swarrrm]

The system could work if judge uses all the numbers. 10-9 should be an extremely close round where one fighter did slightly more. Something like reem vs mir should have had 10-3 rounds. I remember giving Maynard a round 10-1 vs Edgar.

 

[griek1]

Of course this is a good idea. Problem is that people think from within the box.

The ten point must system, which is essentially a one point scoring systeem, is a terrible way to judge MMA fights.

 

[BoooooooM]

This explains why all the UFC champions fight so safe, like Cain, and Jones, and Barao. They aren't really the best fighters on the planet, they just exploit the rules to win.

Right? Right?

They are extremely great and skilled fighters. Although i think jones fights safe, hes just much better than his opponents. He opens up after he knows he has the fight locked up.

Please be honest, there have been fights where a less skilled fighter wins a fight that he shouldn't of won because he got a few TDs and had better "position", despite taking more damage.

 

[BlancaDiablo]

Its normally easy to watch a fight then pick a winner. And if was actually a draw-like circumstances, then whoever landed the last punch

 

[FallonFoxGOAT]

This explains why all the UFC champions fight so safe, like Cain, and Jones, and Barao. They aren't really the best fighters on the planet, they just exploit the rules to win.

Right? Right?

I see what you did there.

Also, I wouldn't mind a system similar to the TS's---but it'll never happen.

 

[BoooooooM]

Agreed. The actual point system is fine, its just unitized very poorly. Almost every room is scored 10-9. What we need it more 10-10, 10-8, and even 10-7 rounds.

Also, control should be deemphasized and damage, aggression, and attempt to finish the fight should be the main criteria (in that order) for scoring a fight.

I disagree with the 10 point must system. However i agree the system would work much better if it actually used the 10-8 10-7, but they NEVER do.

Position should still be completely taken out. It forces fighters to become positon fighters instead of damage fighters. Its easier to win a fight with good postion than doing good damage.

 

[BoooooooM]

Just because some of the most skilled and talented fighters don't fight safe, doesnt mean the scoring system isn't flawed. How often do we see posts complaining about robberies? How often do we see posts complaining about judges? Its almost after every single card. Sure people like to complain...but its not just the idiots complaining. Ask the Actual fighters, they hate the current scoring system.

Dan Hardy just did an AMA on reddit and he said he wished they changed the scoring system. Hes had pretty good success in the UFC if u ask me. Why would he want to change the system?