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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=455660" target="_blank">
ROAD FC to debut new MMA scoring system
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<p>Historically, the two main competing scoring systems in MMA were the Unified Rules and Matt Hume's Pride Rules, which were based in damage. Then PRIDE was bought by the UFC and MMA largely died in Japan. The pan Asian ONE Championship uses a refined version of Hume's rules (and employs him as a VP), but the Unified Rules largely held sway as the sport grew internationally. This scoring method is borrowed from boxing, with the winner of a round getting 10 points, and the loser generally 9, with 8 reserved for rounds where the other guy's head falls off</p>
Now the South Korea-based ROAD FC is dropping the 10-point must scoring for a new 'Unlimited Points System'.
In the new method, points will be given or taken away based on specific actions in the fight. For example, one point is granted for a “clear strike, takedown, near submission, full mount or back mount, clear control on the ground, and aggression.” If a fighter scores a knockdown, five points will be granted.
Fighters also can have points taken away for penalties. Yellow cards will be given for fouls, along with a five-point deduction. Two-point deductions for blue cards will give given if a referee determines a fighter is stalling or avoiding his appointment, either standing or on the ground.
But perhaps most importantly, points will be accumulated throughout the entire fight, not per round. Jake Kwon, ROAD FC’s planning department director, told MMAjunkie the total number of points won’t be announced in the event of a decision. But fighters and their teams will be able to see the point tallies from the judges in the event a decision is disputed.
“We are trying to go our own way – the ROAD FC way,” Kwon told MMAjunkie. “These days, almost all promotions follow the Unified Rules of MMA. But that is not a standard. There is no fixed standard or set of rules for the sport internationally. We don’t want to compare ourselves with any promotion. ROAD FC is just ROAD FC. The most important reason (to change the scoring) – the fighting reason – is to make fighters more active. These days, many fighters just keep their position on the ground to take the points, but our audience doesn’t like that type of fight. They want excitement, so we want to encourage our fighters to be more exciting. That’s why we changed the system they will be judged by.”.
“Things will be more exciting. After two or three events, there won’t be any fighters who want to keep the fight on the ground just to wait out the points. Actually, they will be losing points and that is totally different from the way they are used to fighting. … We devised this judging system to bring MMA back to its original intent. MMA has become highly developed and many fighters are very skillful, but this has sacrificed some of the excitement for the wider audience. The intent of the new point system, including the penalties deducted for stalling and for not engaging in action, is to encourage the fighters to finish their fights.”
The new scoring criteria at ROAD FC events includes:
A) 1 point awarded for each:
Clear connecting strike (legal punch, kick, knee)
Successful takedown
Achieving full mount or back mount position
Clear control in ground position
Near submission
Clear aggressionB) 5 points awarded for each:
Clear connecting strike (legal punch, kick, knee) that knocks down opponent
Slam that causes damageC) 5 points deducted for each yellow card penalty (per referee)
Use or attempted use of an illegal technique
Second strike to the groin, intentional or non-intentional
Deliberate attempt to halt boutD) 2 points deducted for blue card penalty (per referee)
Deliberate failure to engage in striking
Deliberate stalling in a grounded position by holding
The new Unlimited Points System will begin on Saturday at ROAD FC 27 in China. Experience has shown that changing up the rules is harder than it looks.
Further, the rules feel irrational in places. Why is a near submission one point, and a slam 5 points? MMA ends with a nap, tap, or snap; adding a splat and elevating its importance doesn't make sense. The goal of rewarding aggressive play is admirable, but this one will need some revision to be viable.
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