A New Scoring System for MMA
- Preston Witwit
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
One of the biggest controversies that we see in MMA are robberies, From Jared Gordon vs. Paddy Pimblett to Alexander Volkov vs. Cyril Gane. These guys' careers have been slightly derailed due to poor judging. This begs the question, “How can we fix this issue?” One of the ways that we can fix this issue is open scoring, but this would be a problem due to some peoples’ personal bias. Or we can let fighters score, well once again personal bias would come into play on that. Oh, let's make the judges take MMA classes and really see what are significant strikes, don’t think that would be a great idea. I have one solution that would forever revolutionize MMA and completely get rid of “Robberies.” That idea is creating a scoring system.
For a long time now, for some reason MMA has adopted the traditional boxing scoring system of a 10-9 round. For MMA this makes absolutely no sense due to the many facets of the game. From the takedowns, kicks, elbows, control time, clinch, punches, knees, how can we total the score? One of the things that I would love to see is a fair scoring system that also encourages damage. Here's what I would do:
Takedowns: 2 points
Knockdowns: 7 points
More strikes through round: 4 points
More control time through round (15 second differential): 3 points
This way it would be based on a point scoring system further going away from a traditional boxing scoring system and even helping fans understand who actually won the fight. This system also encourages the fighter to go for damage as a knockdown would be worth more than anything, also striking would be worth 4 points. For those asking, how would striking or any of these facets be scored? Here is what I have to say about this. All of these facets would be scored upon an artificial intelligence system. It would be extremely easy to program an A.I. to tell what a takedown is, a knockdown, and to track control time to the very millisecond, which probably no human can do. It would resolve a lot of issues. For further proof, here are a couple of examples of fights that would’ve gone the right way if it weren’t for the judges' scoring.
Cyril Gane vs. Alexander Volkov:
Cyril Gane:
2 points for takedown
8 points for strikes
3 points for control time
Alexander Volkov:
6 points for takedowns
4 points for strikes
6 points for control time
Official scorecard:
16-13 in favor of Alexander Volkov
Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon
Paddy Pimblett:
0 points for takedowns
8 points for strikes
0 points for control time
Jared Gordon:
6 points for takedowns
8 points for strikes
9 points for control time
Official scorecard:
23-8 in favor of Jared Gordon
I will admit though that this system has its flaws just like a lot of judges. I believe that with time that this scoring system will become better. For instance if somebody gets out struck on the feet for 5 rounds but in those five rounds the person getting out struck scores a takedown with 15.
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