(1) All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three judges. The ten-point-must system will be the standard system of scoring a bout. Under the ten-point-must scoring system, ten points must be awarded to the winner of the round and nine points or less must be awarded to the loser, except for an even round, which is scored 10-10.
(2) Judges shall evaluate mixed martial arts techniques, such as effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area, effective aggressiveness, and defense. Evaluations shall be made in the order in which the techniques appear, giving the most weight in scoring to effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area and effective aggressiveness, and defense. Effective striking is judged by determining the number of legal strikes landed by a contestant and the significance of such legal strikes.
(3) Effective grappling is judged by considering the amount of successful executions of a legal takedown and reversals. Examples of factors to consider are takedowns from standing position to mount position, passing the guard to mount position, and bottom position using an active, threatening guard.
(4) Fighting area control is judged by determining who is dictating the pace, location and position of the bout. Examples of factors to consider are countering a grappler's attempt at takedown by remaining standing and legally striking; taking down an opponent to force a ground fight; creating threatening submission attempts, passing the guard to achieve mount, and creating striking opportunities.
(5) Effective aggressiveness means moving forward and landing a legal strike or takedown.
(6) Effective defense means avoiding being struck, taken down or reversed while countering with offensive attacks.
(7) The following objective scoring criteria shall be utilized by the judges when scoring a round:
(a) A round is to be scored as a 10-10 round when both contestants appear to be fighting evenly and neither contestant shows dominance in a round;
(b) A round is to be scored as a 10-9 round when a contestant wins by a close margin, landing the greater number of effective legal strikes, grappling, and other maneuvers;
(c) A round is to be scored as a 10-8 round when a contestant overwhelmingly dominates by striking or grappling in a round;
(d) A round is to be scored as a 10-7 round when a contestant totally dominates by striking or grappling in a round.
(8) There should be scoring of an incomplete round. If the referee penalizes either contestant, then the appropriate points shall be deducted when the inspector calculates the final score for the partial round.
(9) Fouls may result in a point being deducted by the inspector from the offending participant's score. The inspector, not the judges, will be responsible for calculating the true score after factoring in the point deduction.
(10) Only a referee can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, judges shall not make that assessment on their own and cannot factor such into their scoring calculations.
