RULES™
Scoring Guide For MMA, Boxing and K1
Understand the rules. Score with confidence.
Disclaimer: FightScore™ is a judging assistant and educational tool. Always follow the official rules of the promotion, commission or federation. FightScore™ is not official legal or rule authority.
FightScore™ does not replace the judge.
- FightScore™ records the round.
- FightScore™ highlights actions.
- FightScore™ helps judges remember what happened.
FightScore Suggests. You Decide.
The winner of a round usually receives 10 points. The opponent usually receives 9 or fewer.
Clear or close round won by one fighter.
Dominant round with major impact, damage, near finish or overwhelming control.
Extremely rare. Severe domination. FightScore never automatically suggests 10-7.
Important
- No 10-10 in FIGHTSCORE.APP™ scoring flow.
- Judge must manually enter official score.
- FightScore suggests. The Judge decides.
Under the Unified Rules of MMA, judges evaluate each round using a strict order of priority. Higher priorities always outweigh lower ones.
Effective Striking
Clean strikes that cause meaningful impact or damage.
Effective Grappling
Takedowns with control, submission threats, dominant positions and meaningful grappling offense.
DDD™ — Damage / Duration / Domination
Round memory and evaluation framework used by FightScore™.
Damage
Meaningful impact
Duration
Offense control
Domination
Imposed game
Not all strikes are equal. Quality is more important than quantity.
Punch
Basic clean punch.
Significant Punch
Power punch with visible impact.
Kick
Basic clean kick.
Significant Kick
Hard kick with visible effect.
Knockdown
Clear fight-changing impact.
Control alone does not win rounds. Control becomes valuable when combined with damage, submission threats or a dominant position.
Takedown & Control
Successful takedown followed by real control.
Submission Attempt
Real submission threat requiring active defense.
Control Time
Meaningful positional control — not passive holding.
Professional boxing judging criteria:
Clean Effective Punching
Clean punches that land on valid scoring areas.
Effective Aggression
Pressuring with successful offense, not just walking forward.
Ring Generalship
Controlling the pace, distance and rhythm of the fight.
Defense
Avoiding punches through movement, guard, slips, blocks and counters.
Important Notes
- Clean punches matter more than raw volume.
- Knockdowns are major scoring events.
- Defense supports scoring when connected with effective counters and control.
Kickboxing judging criteria:
Effective Striking
Clean punches and kicks with visible impact.
Damage
Visible effect, heavy shots, opponent reaction or loss of balance.
Knockdowns
Major scoring event.
Aggression
Effective forward pressure.
Defense / Control of Exchanges
Useful when it creates counters and controls exchanges.
Important Notes
- Significant kicks and significant punches matter more than light touches.
- Heavy Damage and Knockdown are major FightScore signals.
Punch
Basic clean punch.
Significant Punch
Power punch, elbow, visible damage, wobble, strong impact.
Kick
Basic effective kick.
Significant Kick
High kick, hard body kick, damaging low kick, visible effect.
Takedown & Control
Successful takedown with real control, not only a brief touch.
+10 sec Control Time
Real control time only.
Submission Attempt
Real submission threat requiring active defense.
Knockdown
Clear knockdown or major fight-changing impact.
FightScore uses action data to create a suggestion. It does not decide the official result. Weights are only helper values.
Suggested Score Examples
Confidence Levels
10-8 Requires Multiple Dominance Signals
- Knockdown
- Major damage
- Near finish
- Strong submission attempt
- Extreme striking dominance
- One-sided round
Never Suggest 10-8 Because Of:
- Control time alone
- Takedowns alone
- Defense alone
- Volume alone
FightScore suggests. You Decide.