Modern Fighting

Weight classes:
Featherweight - under 145 lbs. 65.9kg
Lightweight - under 155 lbs. 70.5kg
Welterweight - under 170 lbs. 77.3kg
Middleweight - under 185 lbs. 84kg
Light Heavyweight - under 205 lbs. 93.2kg
Heavyweight - under 265 lbs. 120.5kg
Super Heavyweight - all over 265 lbs. 120.5kg

After the weigh-in:
a) Weight loss in excess of 2 pounds is not permitted for a combatant who weighed in at 145 pounds or less.
b) Weight loss in excess of 3 pounds is not permitted for a combatant who weighed in at over 145 pounds.
The weight loss described in subsection 2 must not occur later than 2 hours after the initial weigh-in
 

Referee
The referee may interrupt a bout at any time.

The referee can interrupt the fight at anytime when he feels there is not enough action. He must advise the fighters verbally prior to the interruption.

When there is a lack of action in a bout, or it reaches a stalemate situation, the referee may interrupt the bout at any time to resume the fight with both competitors standing.

Where the referee interrupts a bout and wants to indicate to a contestant that he must retire to a corner, the referee shall point his hand to instruct the contestant to retire to the farthest neutral corner.

Where a contestant deliberately and unnecessarily removes his mouthpiece, the referee shall deduct 1 point; if the contestant again removes his mouthpiece during the same bout, the referee may disqualify him.

Where a contestant accidentally loses his mouthpiece, the referee shall stop the bout immediately after the exchange of blows taking place and shall send the other contestant to a neutral corner. One of the persons authorized to be present in the corner of the contestant who has lost his mouthpiece shall clean the mouthpiece and give it back to the contestant.

The referee may stop the bout if he considers that 1 of the contestants is not doing his best to win or that both are not doing so. He may then disqualify either contestant or both contestants, in which case he shall make a report to the chief official explaining the reasons for his decision.

The referee may remove any person present in a contestant’s corner where he considers that the person is acting in an unsuitable manner or interfering with the bout, and may deduct 1 or more points from the contestant or disqualify him.

Only the referee and the contestants shall be present in the Octagon during a round.

The referee shall stop the bout where the physician advises him that a contestant is no longer fit to continue.

The referee shall stop the bout immediately when a contestant is knocked out.

Where a contestant receives a foul blow, the referee may interrupt the bout and may allow him up to 5 minutes to recover. If the contestant cannot continue after this time for medical reasons the following may occur:

If the foul blow was caused accidentally, the bout will go to the judges’ scorecards, unless      the bout has not reached the end of at least one round in which case it will be made a no contest.

If the blow was caused intentionally, the victim will be deemed the winner of the contest by way of disqualification.

The referee shall indicate to the Timekeeper to pause the timer if there is an interruption of a round or rest period.

Scoring
A 10 Point Must system will be used to score bouts. Each round of a contest is scored individually and if no submission or KO occurs, these are totalled up and a decision made.

The winner of a round will be awarded 10 points, and the loser 9 points or less. It is not possible for both fighters to score 10 points for a round.

Criteria that the judges will be assessing, in order of priority, are as follows: -

a)       Effective Aggressiveness.
This is determined as the fighter showing most effort to win. It is of no use to simply be aggressive. The fighter’s effort must be effective effort.

b)      Effective Technique.
This area includes Striking, Clinch Work, Takedowns, Submission attempts, Transitioning, and Positioning.

c)       Cage/ Ring Control.                                                                                    
This is assessed by determining which fighter has used the fighting area to his / her advantage the most.

d)      Defence / Escapes.
This area includes avoiding and blocking of strikes, reversals from pins and mounts, escapes from submissions i.e. transitioning to avoid a submission, etc. etc.

The above areas are to be used in order of priority, and each consecutive area is only considered if the preceding one has been determined to be equal for both fighters. If a fighter dominates area ‘a’ there is no need to assess area ‘b’, and so on.

Judges should be well versed in all areas of MMA competition and techniques, and should show no bias to just one area, i.e. striking over submissions.

A head judge will be appointed at each contest. This judge will not score the contest directly, however it is his responsibility to ensure that the scoring is kept consistent and of a high standard. The head judge may ask for any of the other three judges to be replaced if they are found to be incompetent.

Point deduction: In the event of a foul, the referee may decide to deduct a point from the offending fighter.

At the conclusion of a contest the scorecards will be collected, the totals added, passed to the referee and a decision announced.

Decisions

Submission by:

     (a) Physical tap out.
     (b) Verbal tap out.

Knockout

Technical knockout by the referee stopping the contest.

Decision via the scorecards, including:

     (a) Unanimous decision.
     (b) Majority decision.
     (c) Unanimous draw.
     (d) Majority draw.

Technical decision.

Technical draw.

Disqualification.

Forfeit.

No contest.

Where both contestants are injured or have been knocked down simultaneously and are not able to resume the bout, the contestant leading on the scorecards shall be declared the winner.

Where a contestant is injured as a result of a legal blow and the bout cannot go on by reason of the seriousness of the injury, the referee shall interrupt the bout, shall consult the physician and, if the physician considers that the bout must be stopped, shall declare the injured contestant the loser by a technical knock-out.

Where the referee considers that a contestant is no longer able to defend himself or stand up to his opponent, he shall stop the bout and declare the opponent the winner by a technical knockout.

Where a contestant is disqualified, his opponent shall be declared the winner. If both contestants are disqualified, the decision shall be the disqualification of both contestants.

Where a contestant has been knocked down and cannot resume the bout, his opponent shall be declared the winner by a knockout.

The referee may interrupt or end a bout for exceptional reasons beyond his or the contestants’ control. In such a case, he shall consult the chief official in making his decision as to the result of the bout.

Where a contestant is cut as the result of an unintentional foul and the bout cannot go on by reason of the seriousness of the cut, the referee shall make a technical decision, applied to the round during which the bout is stopped, in favour of the contestant who is leading on the score cards, including the score card for the round during which the bout is stopped. The first round must have been completed for a decision to be made; otherwise a no contest will be called. Where the bout can go on, the referee may deduct 1 or more points from the offending contestant, depending on the seriousness of the foul. The referee shall inform the judges and the chief official that the cut has been caused by an unintentional foul and that if the cut worsens as the result of a legal blow and causes the bout to be stopped, the decision must be made based on the score cards, including the score card for the round during which the bout is stopped. If the cut worsens as the result of an illegal blow and causes the bout to be stopped, the offending contestant shall lose by disqualification. A contestant shall be disqualified if, according to the referee, he has
committed an intentional foul.

If an injury inflicted by an accidental foul later becomes aggravated by fair blows and the referee orders the contest to be stopped because of the injury, the outcome must be determined by scoring the completed rounds and the round during which the referee stops the contest.

Fouls
During a contest, each of the following acts constitutes a foul:

1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish-hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration of an opponent
8. Small joint manipulation. Control of a minimum of 4 digits is required.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward with the elbow.
11. Striking the head of a downed opponent using the elbow. (Optional)
12. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
13. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
14. Grabbing the clavicle.
15. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
17. Stomping a grounded opponent.
18. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
19. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
20. Throwing an opponent out of the fenced area.
21. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
22. Spitting at an opponent.
23. Engaging in any un-sportsman like conduct.
24. Holding the fence.
25. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
26. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
27. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
28. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of combat.
29. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
30. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent.
31. Intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
32. Interference by the corner men or coaches.

Inspection Stoppage
If a fighter on the ground sustains an injury (e.g., a cut) that in the referee’s judgment must be evaluated immediately, the referee must stop the match and the fighters must remain in their strategic positions. The referee will evaluate the injury with the fighters in those positions. If he determines the injury is not serious, the match is continued with the fighters in those positions. If the referee needs a doctor’s evaluation, he must remember the fighter’s positions and then stand them up. If the doctor evaluates an injured fighter and determines the match can proceed, the referee must, if possible, put the fighters back into their previous strategic positions.

Duration of a bout
The duration of non title bouts will be 3 rounds of 5 minutes. The break between rounds will be 1 minute.

Option 1 - The duration of national and international title bouts will be 3 rounds of 5 minutes. In the event that there is a draw at the end of the 3 rounds an extra 5 minute round will be used to decide the winner. If at the end of the fourth round the bout is still decided to be a draw then there will be a fifth and final round to decide the winner. The break between rounds will be 1 minute. An extra 1 minute between rounds will be added for the extra rounds to enable the scorecards to be read.

Option 2 – The duration of national and international title bouts will be 5 rounds of 5 minutes.