Tier 1: Effective Striking & Grappling
The primary scoring criterion under ABCP Unified Rules of MMA. Heavy strikes that visibly stun, cause swelling/cuts, or have high cumulative impact supersede cosmetic volume.
- Legal strikes that have immediate potential to contribute to the end of the match receive the highest priority.
- Cumulative impact that wears down an opponent over the 5-minute round is second priority.
Tier 2 & 3: Aggressiveness & Control
These secondary criteria are only considered if Tier 1 is deemed 100% dead even by the official presiding judge:
- Effective Aggressiveness: Moving forward with successful offensive output, not merely marching forward while eating strikes.
- Fighting Area Control: Dictating where the fight takes place (center cage, fence pinning, takedown defense against the perimeter).
10-8 & 10-7 Round Thresholds
Under modernized officiating standards, judges are urged to score 10-8 rounds when one fighter wins by a large margin across three core tenets:
- Damage / Impact: Sustained threat of stoppage or multiple knockdowns.
- Dominance: Total shutdown of the opponent's offense for significant duration.
- Duration: Maintaining dominant top-mount, back control, or unanswered striking exchanges.