The fighters competing at Bellator 282 will hopefully have a better idea of how judges are scoring fights ahead of the action on Friday.
Mike Mazzulli (executive director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation) gave a summary of MMA scoring criteria on Thursday to athletes and teams in preparation for the Mohegan Sun Arena event in Uncasville.
* The commission hopes that fighters will be better able to understand the importance of what it means when they step into the cage for a fight. MMA Junkie initially reported the news.
While the scoring criteria for MMA is widely available, Mazzulli handed out a brief breakdown that highlights exactly what the judges look at before handing in a scorecard at the end of each round.
There has been a lot discussion recently about misconceptions regarding the scoring criteria for MMA. This is especially based on controversial decisions made by broadcasters across combat sports.
Now, in an effort to help the fighters better understand what the judges want to see, Mazzulli and the Mohegan commission are attempting to at least bridge the gap.
Here is the complete text that was sent out to MMA Fighting by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation.
1. Impact/Damage: A judge shall assess if a fighter impacts their opponent significantly in the round, even though they may not have dominated the action. Visible evidence of impact includes swelling or lacerations. Impact shall also be assessed when a fighter’s actions, using striking and/or grappling, lead to a diminishing of their opponent’s energy, confidence, abilities and spirit. All of these come as a direct result of impact. This is when a fighter’s control or ability and/or strikes are impacted. It can lead to defining moments during a round.
2. Dominance : MMA is an aggressive-based sport. The dominance of a round is when the loser is required to defend continuously and with no reaction or counters when opportunities present. A fighter who holds dominant positions during a fight can show dominance by using those positions for fight-ending submissions and attacks. Merely holding a dominant position(s) shall not be a primary factor in assessing dominance. It is important to assess what the fighter does in these positions. In the absence of dominance in the grappling phase, as set forth in paragraph 3 of the promulgated rules, to be considered dominate, there must be a singularly or in combination, some types of submission attempts, strikes, or an overwhelming pace which is measured by improved or aggressive positional changes that cause the losing fighter to consistently be in a defensive or reactive mode
3. Duration : Time is the amount of time a fighter spends effectively attacking, controlling and impacting an opponent. The opponent’s offensive output may be very low or negligible. The judge will assess the duration of a fight by looking at the time that one fighter has taken and maintained full control over the offensive. It can also be measured standing or grounded.
The full scoring criteria of MMA can also be viewed at , as published by the California State Athletic Commission.
While understanding the scoring criteria will not instantly solve complaints about judging in MMA (or MMA), the Bellator 282 fighters have at least another tool before Friday’s event. The card is headlined by middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi defending his title against Johnny Eblen.
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