1) STOPPING CONTEST:

The referee and ringside physician are the sole arbiters of a contest and are the only individuals authorized to enter the ring/octagon at any time during competition and to stop a contest.

2) JUDGING:

All contests will be evaluated and scored by three judges.

3) TEN (10) POINT MUST SYSTEM:

The 10-Point Must System will be the standard system of scoring a contest.

4) WARNINGS:

A single warning will be issued for the following infractions only:

• A) Holding or grabbing fence
• B) Holding opponent's shorts or gloves
• C) The presence of more than one second on the apron

5) FOULS:

• A) The following acts constitute fouls in a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts:
  • 1) Butting with the head
  • 2) Eye gouging of any kind
  • 3) Biting
  • 4) Spitting at an opponent
  • 5) Hair pulling
  • 6) Fish hooking
  • 7) Groin attacks of any kind
  • 8) Putting a finger into any orifice or any cut or laceration of an opponent
  • 9) Small joint manipulation
  • 10) Striking downward using the point of the elbow
  • 11) Striking to the spine or the back of the head
  • 12) Kicking to the kidney with a heel
  • 13) Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
  • 14) Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
  • 15) Grabbing the clavicle
  • 16) Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
  • 17) Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
  • 18) Stomping a grounded opponent
  • 19) Holding the fence
  • 20) Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
  • 21) Using abusive language in fenced area/ring
  • 22) Engaging in any unsportsmanlike conduct that causes injury to an opponent
  • 23) Attacking an opponent on or during the break
  • 24) Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
  • 25) Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the round
  • 26) Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
  • 27) Throwing opponent out of fenced area/ring
  • 28) Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
  • 29) Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck
  • 30) Interference by the corner
  • 31) Throwing in the towel during competition
• B) Disqualification occurs after any combination of 3 fouls or after a flagrant foul.
• C) Fouls result in a point being deducted by the official scorekeeper from the offending contestant's score. The judges should only make notations of points deducted by the referee, for each round.
• D) Only a referee can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, judges must not make that assessment on their own.
• E) A fouled contestant has up to 5 minutes to recuperate.
• F) If a foul is committed:
   
  • 1) The referee shall call time.
    2) The referee shall check the fouled contestant's condition and safety.
    3) The referee shall then assess the foul to the offending contestant, deduct points, and notify the cornermen, judges and official scorekeeper.
• G) If a bottom contestant commits a foul, unless the top contestant is injured, the contest will continue.
  • 1) The referee will verbally notify the bottom contestant of the foul.
  • 2) When the round is over, the referee will assess the foul and notify both corners, the judges and the official scorekeeper.
  • 3) The referee may terminate a contest based on the severity of a foul. For such a flagrant foul, a contestant shall lose by disqualification.

6) INJURIES SUSTAINED BY FAIR BLOWS AND FOULS:

A) Fair Blows:

If injury is severe enough to terminate a contest, the injured contestant loses by TKO.

B) Fouls:

• 1) Intentional:
  • a) If an injury is severe enough to cause the immediate termination of a contest, the contestant causing the injury loses by disqualification.
  • b) If an injury is produced and the contest is allowed to continue, the referee will notify the authorities and automatically deduct 2 points from the contestant who committed the foul. Point deductions for intentional fouls will be mandatory.
  • c) If an injury as described in (b) above is the cause of the contest being stopped in a later round, the injured boxer will win by TECHNICAL DECISION, if he is ahead on the scorecards.
  • d) If an injury as described in (b) above is the cause of the contest being stopped in a later round, the contest will result in a TECHNICAL DRAW, if the injured contestant is behind or even on the scorecards.
  • e) If a contestant injures himself while attempting to foul his opponent, the referee will not take any action in his favor and the injury is the same as one produced by a fair blow.
• 2) Accidental:
  • a) Any injury severe enough for the referee to stop the contest immediately will result in a NO CONTEST if stopped before 2 rounds have been completed in a 3 round contest or if stopped before 3 rounds have been completed in a 5 round contest.
  • b) Any injury severe enough for the referee to stop the contest immediately after 2 rounds of a 3 round contest, or after 3 rounds of a 5 round contest have occurred, the contest will result in a TECHNICAL DECISION, awarded to the contestant who is ahead on the score cards at the time the contest is stopped.
  • c) If injury (b) above occurs, all completed rounds and the round in which the bout is stopped will be scored.
  • d) If an injury inflicted by an accidental foul later becomes aggravated by fair blows and the referee orders the bout stopped because of the injury, the outcome must be determined by scoring the completed rounds and the round in which the referee stops the contest.
  • e) If injury (b) above occurs, and the referee penalizes either contestant, then point(s) shall be deducted from the final score.

7) WEIGHT DIVISIONS:

Except with the approval of the commission or its executive director, the classes for mixed martial arts contests or exhibitions and the weights for each class shall be:

 

• Bantamweight - Upper weght limit 135 lb
• Featherweight - Upper weght limit 145 lb
• Lightweight - Upper weght limit 155 lb
• Welterweight - Upper weght limit 170 lb
• Middleweight - Upper weght limit 185 lb
• Light Heavyweight - Upper weght limit 205 lb
• Heavyweight - No upper weight limit

8) SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:

• B) Groin and Chest Protectors:
  • 1) Groin: All male contestants shall provide and wear a foul-proof groin protector, which shall be subject to examination and approval by the commission. Groin protectors are prohibited for female contestants.
  • 2) Chest: All female contestants shall wear a chest protector during competition. The chest protector shall be subject to examination and approval by the commission.
     
• C) Mouthpieces:
  • 1) All contestants are required to wear a well-fitting mouthpiece, which shall be subject to examination and approval by the commission.
    2) A round will not begin until both contestants have their respective mouthpieces in place.
    3) If a mouthpiece is involuntarily dislodged during competition, the referee will call time and replace the mouthpiece at the first opportune moment, which does not interfere with the immediate action.
• D) Contestant's Apparel:
  • 1) Trunks: Each contestant must provide themselves with mixed martial arts shorts, bikers' shorts, boxing or kickboxing shorts/pants.
  • 2) Shirt or Gi: Contestants may not wear a shirt or gi during competition.
  • 3) Shoes: Contestants may not wear shoes of any kind during competition
• E) Contestant's Physical Appearance:
  • 1) Each contestant must be clean and present a tidy appearance.
  • 2) The excessive use of grease or any other foreign substance, including, without limitation, grooming creams, lotions or sprays, may not be used on the face, hair or body of a contestant. The referee shall cause any excessive grease or foreign substance to be removed.
  • 4) Contestants may not wear any jewelry or other piercing accessories while competing.

9) USE OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES; DETECTION; PENALTIES:

A) Use of Prohibited Substances:

The use of any illegal drug, narcotic, stimulant, depressant, or analgesic of any description, or alcohol substance, by a contestant either before or during a match, shall result in the immediate disqualification of the contestant from the match and disciplinary action in accordance with the commission licensing the contest.

B) Detection of Prohibited Substances:

In order to detect the presence of any prohibited substance, a contestant shall submit to any pre-contest or post-contest urinalysis or other laboratory procedure that is ordered by the physician appointed by the commission. Refusal to submit to such testing shall result in the immediate disqualification of the contestant from the match and an indefinite suspension from the sport of mixed martial arts.

C) Urinalysis:

• 1) All contestants may be ordered to complete a pre-contest urinalysis exam to detect the presence of any drug.
• 2) In addition to a pre-contest analysis, the local commission may, at its discretion, decide to test for the presence of performance enhancing drugs and thereby require additional urine specimens to be produced at any time after the completion of the contest.
• 3) Collection of specimens for urinalysis testing shall be conducted or supervised by a commission official. Refusal to submit to such testing shall result in the immediate disqualification of the contestant from the match and an indefinite suspension from the sport of mixed martial arts.

10) JUDGING AND SCORING - Contests can be terminated as the result of any of the following:

• A) Submission by:
  • 1) Physical Tap Out
  • 2) Verbal tap out
• B) Technical Knockout (TKO) by:
  • 1) Referee stops contest, fighter is injured and/or unable to defend himself.
  • 2) Ringside Physician stops contest, fighter is injured.
  • C) Knockout (KO) – Contestant is unable to maintain a standing position.
• D) Decision via the score cards:
  • 1) Unanimous Decision - When all three judges score the contest for the same contestant.
  • 2) Split Decision - When two judges score the contest for one contestant and one judge scores for the opponent
  • 3) Majority Decision - When two judges score the contest for the same contestant and one judge scores a draw
• E) Draw. Including:
  • 1) Unanimous Draw - When all three judges score the contest a draw
  • 2) Majority Draw - When two judges score the contest a draw
  • 3) Split Draw - When all three judges score differently
• F) Disqualification
• G) Forfeit
• H) Technical Draw
• I) Technical Decision
• J) No Contest

11) SCORING TECHNIQUES:

• A) Using the 10-Point Must Scoring System; judges are required to determine a winner of a contest that ends after the Initial scheduled number of rounds have been completed. 10 points must be awarded to the winner of the round and nine points or less must be awarded to the loser, except for a rare even round, which is scored (10-10).
• B) Mixed Martial Arts Techniques are defined as:
  • 1) "Effective Striking": The total number of legal heavy strikes landed
  • 2) "Effective Grappling": The successful execution of a legal takedown and/or reversal including the following maneuvers:
    • a) Takedowns from standing position to mount position;
    • b) Passing the guard to mount position;
    • c) Bottom position fighters using an active, threatening guard.
  • 3) "Octagon Control": Dictating the pace, location and position of the contest using the following maneuvers:
    • a) Countering a grappler's attempt at takedown to remain standing and legally striking effectively;
    • b) Taking down an opponent to force a ground fight;
    • c) Creating threatening submission attempts pass the guard to achieve mount, while on the ground;
    • d) Creating striking opportunities, while on the ground.
  • 4) "Effective Aggressiveness": Moving forward and setting the tempo of the contest while effectively scoring with legal strikes, takedowns, and submissions while blocking the opponents counters.
  • 5) "Effective Defense": Successful avoidance or defense of blows and submissions by which an opponent is made to miss by definite maneuvers. However, one who demonstrates these skills must also strike effectively to positively influence the judges' scoring.
  • 6) "Intelligent Defense": An active defense that effectively neutralizes an opponent's attack, particularly when the defender is mounted, either from the front or the back. An intelligent defense minimizes the potential for damage while providing the opportunity for taking back the offense.
• C) Scoring of the above techniques shall be given the most weight as follows:
  • 1) Effective Striking
  • 2) Effective Grappling
  • 3) Octagon Control
  • 4) Effective Aggressiveness/Defense Evaluations shall be made in the order in which the techniques appear above, giving the most weight in scoring to effective striking, grappling, octagon control and aggressiveness/defense.
• D) Judges should use a sliding scale and recognize the length of time the contestants are either standing or on the ground, as follows:
  • 1) If 90% of a round was spent on the ground, then:
    • a) Effective Grappling is weighed first
    • b) Effective Striking is then weighed
  • 2) If 90 % of a round was standing, then:
    • a) Effective Striking is weighed first
    • b) Effective grappling is then weighed
  • 3) If a round ends with 50% standing and 50% grounded, striking and grappling are weighed more equally.

12) OBJECTIVE SCORING CRITERIA:

• 10-10 Round
  • A) When both contestants appear to be fighting evenly and neither contestant shows clear dominance in a round.
  • B) When both contestants suffer equal numbers of legal knockdowns, takedowns, and strikes and neither shows clear dominance in a round.
• 10-9 Round
  • A) When a contestant wins by a close margin, landing the greater number of effective legal strikes, grappling and other maneuvers.
  • B) When a contestant remains in the guard position with no fighter having an edge in striking or grappling, the fighter who scored the legal takedown wins the round.
• 10-8 Round
  • A) When a contestant overwhelmingly dominates by striking or grappling in a round.
  • B) When a contestant adversely affects his opponent by knocking him down from a legal strike, threatening submission attempts, throwing, legal striking while standing or grounded.
• 10-7 Round
  • A) When a contestant totally dominates by striking or grappling in a round.
  • B) When a contestant detrimentally affects his opponent by knocking him down from a legal strike, threatening submission attempts, throwing, legal striking while standing or grounded.