How to Watch MMA Like a Pro: Understanding MMA Basics

Sep 21

7 min read

Whether you just started watching mixed martial arts or you have been a long-time fan, you’ve probably heard the word or been called a “casual.” While the term is typically meant as an insult, everyone starts out as a casual fan! When you first begin watching a sport, it’s likely that you don’t know a whole lot about it except that it’s fun to watch. There’s also nothing wrong with being a fan who watches the occasional fight or only knows some of the bigger names in the sport. But, if you’d like a comprehensive guide to better understand the intricacies of the sport, you’ve come to the right place!

Terminology

Let’s start with some basic terms you may hear during a fight’s commentary and some types of fight outcomes. As the name “mixed martial arts” suggests, there are many forms of combat sports being used during the duration of a fight, including boxing/kickboxing, muay thai, karate, wrestling, judo, and jiu jitsu, to name a few. And there are several different ways a fight can end.

Striking. This one is fairly obvious. Fighters use punches, elbows, kicks, and knees for striking. To further break this down, you may hear commentary regarding “significant strikes.” These are any strike at distance (meaning when fighters are just within range to reach each other with strikes), powerful shots when in the clinch (more on that below), and on the ground.
Grappling. Grappling is when a fighter is holding another fighter in a position either standing or on the ground. Fighters will sometimes hold each other against the cage to gain control and work towards a takedown or use something like jiu jitsu on the ground to attempt to control and finish their opponent.
Clinch. This is when fighters are holding each other closely against each other. This often happens against the side of the cage or can happen in the middle of the octagon.
KO/TKO. A KO is a “knockout.” This means that the fighter has gone unconscious from a strike. Fights are always stopped when this happens. A TKO is a “technical knockout.” This means that the fighter often doesn’t go completely unconscious but is dazed enough by the strikes that he or she is unable to defend themselves properly. Sometimes a fighter may get a chance to recover but the referee will stop the fight if the fighter is unable to continue.
Ground and pound. This refers to when a fighter takes their opponent to the ground, holds them there, and lands strikes with fists or elbows, often viciously.
Submission. Submissions refer to non-striking ways to finish an opponent. These typically happen on the ground and include chokes (rear naked, guillotine, anaconda, d’arce, etc.) and joint manipulation (armbar, kneebar, kimura, omoplata, heel hook, etc.). A fighter can “tap” to these submissions, meaning that they use their hand to tap their opponent or the ground to signify to the referee that they submit and wish the fight to be stopped. A fighter can also verbally tap which includes shouting in pain. Sometimes fighters will not tap or submit and will go unconscious or suffer a broken/dislocated limb, so the referee has to step in and stop the fight.
Split decision. This is a result of a fight where one judge scores the fight for one fighter, and a second judge scores the fight for the other fighter. The third judge’s score is used to determine who is the winner, making the decision 2-1. There are always 3 judges for a fight.
Draw. This result happens when the fight ends in a tie by all 3 judges’ score cards.
No contest. This is a fight result which means that neither fighter is the winner. This may happen due to a foul that causes one fighter to not be able to continue the bout, an indiscretion that occurs after the event, and other various causes. This ruling also usually occurs in the first or second round of a fight. If the incident happens in the third round, it will often go to the judges’ score cards to determine the fight’s outcome. It is a very nuanced process to decide between calling a fight a no contest or deciding if it needs to go to the scorecards for a decision, but this is the basic idea.
Disqualification. This is an outcome that means a fighter fouled their opponent. The judges determine the foul to be intentional or repetitive, thereby bringing the fight to an end.

Scoring and Judging System

In the early 2000s, many mixed martial arts promotions adopted what is called the Unified Rules of MMA. These rules govern judging, fouls, medical clearance, and other factors in the sport. This was in an effort to create more consistency and to protect the safety of the fighters. Most major promotions and countries have adopted and accept the Unified Rules, so many fights you watch will follow these criteria.

For scoring:

10-point must per round. This means that 10 points are granted to the winner of the round, and 9 points or fewer to the loser. The most common score given in a round is 10-9, and is officially defined by the rules as “one combatant wins the round by a close margin.” It is often the case that one fighter sets themselves apart as the clear winner of a round, but isn’t completely dominating. Other possible scores are as below.
10-8 score. This is defined as “one fighter wins the round by a large margin.” Recently, judges have been encouraged to utilize this score more. If one competitor lands more damaging punches or exerts significant control with grappling and can effectively neutralize their opponent’s offense, this could constitute a 10-8 round.
10-7 score. This is extremely rare and is defined as “when a fighter completely overwhelms their opponent and a stoppage is warranted.” A fight usually is and should be stopped before this point in the interest of fighter safety.
10-10 score. This is also an extremely rare scenario, in which the judges cannot determine a clear winner in the sense that both fighters have had the same level of striking or grappling output. This usually happens when there is very little action from both fighters during a round.

For judging:

Effective striking/grappling. This is the highest priority for scoring and is considered first when judging. According to the Unified Rules, striking or grappling that exerts immediate effect on the opponent is regarded as more significant than striking or grappling that exerts cumulative effects. This means that strikes that land harder and cause more physical damage during a round as opposed to less impactful strikes will be considered more highly, or grappling that smothers an opponent where there is significant control time as opposed to takedowns without much damage or control are more highly considered when scoring. This has, however, been a point of contention among judges and fans when watching fights, as many people see higher striking output or more takedowns as winning a round, whereas others see fewer but more impactful strikes or more significantly damaging takedowns as winning a round. So, this is where things can get tricky. For instance, fighter A lands 50 strikes during a round that do not cause much damage and fighter B lands 30 strikes during a round that are harder but could be considered by some as losing the round. As cut and dry as these rules attempt to make judging and scoring, there still remains a certain level of subjectivity.
Effective aggressiveness. This is a factor that is considered second and less often when judging a round. The Unified Rules define effective aggressiveness as “aggressively making attempts to finish the fight. The key term is ‘effective.’ Chasing after an opponent with no effective result or impact should not render in the judges’ assessment.” This judging criterion is really only used when a round is very evenly matched in terms of striking or grappling and neither fighter has made a significant impact.
Octagon/arena control. This is the last factor to be considered and is only used when a clear winner cannot be determined by the other two criteria listed above. Arena control is “assessed by determining who is dictating the pace, place, and position of the match.” This could include a fighter who stands their ground in the center of the ring and backs their opponent against the cage, persistently pursuing them.

Fouls/Illegal Conduct

Part of the purpose of the Unified Rules was to protect the health and safety of the fighters by attempting to avoid permanent injuries. It also provides clear-cut rules that allow a level playing field. Current widely accepted fouls like stomping the head of a grounded opponent were once legal in certain promotions like the now-defunct Pride FC in Japan and in the early days of the UFC. Some major fouls the Unified Rules now prohibit include:

Groin strikes (to both men and women)
Strikes to the back of the head/spine
“Spiking” an opponent (lifting them off the ground and dumping them on their head)
Fish hooking (inserting a finger into an opponent’s mouth and pulling it)
Kneeing/kicking/stomping the head of a grounded opponent (it has been contested among organizations and states as to what constitutes a grounded opponent, but the Unified Rules defines a grounded opponent as “any part of the body, other than a single hand or the soles of the feet touching the fighting arena floor. To be grounded, both hands palm/fist down, and/or any other body part must be touching the fighting area floor”).
Eye pokes
Biting or scratching an opponent
Holding or grabbing the cage with the fingers or toes
Holding or manipulating an opponent’s shorts or gloves

Some of the above fouls that are not for safety may not be obvious as to why they are implemented. For example, holding the cage is not allowed because if one fighter is trying to take the other down, and the other fighter grabs onto the cage, he or she may prevent a takedown. The same is true about holding an opponent’s fight gear. Inserting the fingers into the glove of an opponent could prevent them from advancing position on the ground or effectively finding a submission. This ensures that the fight remains solely about technique.

Now that you’ve learned about some of the fundamentals of MMA, hopefully you can watch with enjoyment and more understanding about what you are seeing and hearing. Welcome to the wonderful world of MMA!

If you’d like to view the entirety of the Unified Rules, follow the link below:

https://mmareferee.com/?q=unifiedrules