A Revised Scoring System

by Matlock Fight Talk

The scoring system is based on three key criteria: Damage, Control, and Defense. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 3 points per round, with each criterion weighted differently to reflect its importance in determining the overall winner of a fight. The maximum score per round is 9 points, and the minimum is 0 points. Here’s a detailed breakdown of how to score an MMA fight using these criteria:

1. Damage (0-3 Points) — Weight: 50%

Damage is the most critical criterion, reflecting the effectiveness and impact of strikes, submissions, and other fight-altering actions. It evaluates the degree to which a fighter causes harm or threatens their opponent with fight-ending potential.

Sub-Criteria for Damage:

• Striking Impact:
  • The severity of strikes landed, such as punches, kicks, elbows, or knees.
  • Visible effects like cuts, swelling, or visibly stunning the opponent.
  • Knockdowns or strikes that significantly alter the course of the fight.
• Submission Threat:
  • Submission attempts that are deep and require significant defense.
  • Near-finishes or submission attempts that visibly threaten to end the fight.

Scoring Damage:

• 3 Points: Significant, fight-altering damage that visibly affects the opponent (e.g., knockdowns, cuts, or deep submission attempts that almost end the fight).
• 2 Points: Clear visible damage, but not fight-altering (e.g., cumulative damage like swelling, noticeable reactions to strikes, or significant but unsuccessful submission attempts).
• 1 Point: Minor damage that doesn’t significantly impact the opponent’s ability to fight (e.g., light strikes, unsuccessful submission attempts with minimal threat).
• 0 Points: No effective damage inflicted.

2. Control (0-3 Points) — Weight: 30%

Control reflects a fighter’s ability to dictate the pace, position, and overall flow of the fight. It includes both positional dominance and effective aggression in dictating the terms of engagement.

Sub-Criteria for Control:

• Positional Dominance:
  • Securing and maintaining dominant positions such as top control, mount, back control, or side control.
  • Preventing the opponent from effectively countering or escaping.
• Effective Aggression and Octagon Control:
  • Walking down the opponent and cutting off the cage effectively.
  • Pressing the pace and controlling the distance, forcing the opponent into defensive or reactive positions.

Scoring Control:

• 3 Points: Complete control, maintaining dominant positions or pressuring effectively without any significant opposition or ability from the opponent to escape or counter.
• 2 Points: Majority control, maintaining effective pressure or positional dominance with some resistance from the opponent.
• 1 Point: Brief control, gaining advantageous positions or effective aggression but not sustaining it long enough to impact the round significantly.
• 0 Points: No control exhibited, unable to dictate the position or pace of the fight.

3. Defense (0-3 Points) — Weight: 20%

Defense evaluates a fighter’s ability to avoid damage and nullify their opponent’s offense, including striking defense, submission defense, and positional escapes.

Sub-Criteria for Defense:

• Striking Defense:
  • Effectively blocking, parrying, or evading strikes with minimal damage taken.
  • Countering effectively to nullify the opponent’s offensive attempts.
• Grappling Defense:
  • Defending takedown attempts, reversing positions, or escaping from dangerous situations like back control or submissions.
  • Successfully avoiding submission attempts and turning defense into offense (e.g., countering a submission with your own or escaping to a neutral/dominant position).

Scoring Defense:

• 3 Points: Completely nullifies the opponent’s offense with effective counters or escapes, avoiding significant damage or danger entirely.
• 2 Points: Defends effectively, minimizing damage and avoiding dangerous positions but not completely neutralizing the opponent’s offense.
• 1 Point: Defends but takes some damage or loses control positions; able to avoid significant threat but still on the defensive.
• 0 Points: Ineffective defense, unable to avoid damage, getting caught in submissions or dangerous positions frequently.

4. Total Round Score Calculation

The round score is the sum of the points from each criterion, with the weighted formula applied to emphasize the importance of each criterion:

Total Round Score = (Damage × 0.5) + (Control × 0.3) + (Defense × 0.2)

Maximum Score per Round: 9 points (3 for each category).

Minimum Score per Round: 0 points.