The UFC and MMA more broadly has captivated audiences around the world. With it's combination of beautiful striking, dominating grappling and crafty submission techniques, it's easy to see why. Within the UFC, the leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion, fights can end in a variety of ways. Each fighter has their own unique skillset, with some being dominant grapplers and others being world class boxers, which can impact the way victory is scored inside the cage. So, let's break down the different methods of victory inside the organisation.
1. Knockout (KO)/ Technical Knockout (TKO)
- A knockout is what every UFC fan comes to see. Knockouts occur when a fighter renders their opponent unconscious or unable to continue. This is generally due to strikes and the referee stops the fight.
- A technical knockout, is similar to a knockout, with a subtle difference. This will generally occur when the referee has to intervene and stop the fight when a fighter cannot intelligently defend themself against strikes
- Knockouts/Technical knockouts are generally the result of punches, kicks, elbows and knees. It is also possibly to be TKO's via leg kicks
- If you want to see a good Knockout, watch Dustin Poirier vs Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299
2. Submission
- Submissions occur when a fighter forces their opponent to submit by various joint or choke-hold techniques, resulting in the opponent tapping out, verbally submitting or being put to sleep
- The most common submission techniques include armbars, guillotines, rear-naked chokes, Kimuras and triangles - just to name a few
- Some popular submission styles include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (like Charles Oliveira), Wrestling (Like Bo Nickal), Judo and Sambo.
- If you want to see some awesome submission victories, watch some of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev's submission wins.
3. Decision Win
- A decision win is pretty obvious. If the fight goes the distance (3 rounds for non-title fight and 5 rounds for title fight) without a knockout or submission, the outcome is left to the judges scorecards
- Judges don't always get it right, especially for close fights. However, this is generally determined by factors such as effective striking, damage, aggression, takedowns and control time.
- Decisions can be unanimous for a dominant win (all judges give their votes to one fighter), split decision (two judges give the fight to one person and one judge gives it to the other), majority decision (two judges give it to one fighter and the other scores it a draw) and a draw (if it is evenly scored)
- A no contest tends to happen due to reasons that are outside of at least one fighters control. This can include an accidental clash of heads or eye-poke which forces a fighter to withdraw from the fight. If this occurs, neither fighter wins and the bout is ended.
4. Disqualification (DQ)
- Although unfortunate, fighters can be disqualified if they engage in illegal actions such as illegal knees, biting, eye-gouging, groin strikes or other actions that the referee deems unacceptable
- If a fighter is disqualified, the opponent is deemed the winner of the bout. An example of this is recent times is Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling, which ended with an illegal knee strike
5. Forfeit
- A fighter will have to forfeit if they are unable to continue the bout due to injury, illness or any other reason that renders them unable to fight. The opponent is declared the winner by forfeit
The UFC is an exciting and exhilarating sport to viewers and spectators. It showcases an array of techniques, styles and endurance to get the victory. It's a complex sport that can end in so many ways. From jaw-dropping knockouts to crazy submissions and even hard-fought decisions, every fight is unique in their own ways. Styles make fights and the UFC is full of outstanding styles. Understanding the chances of varies methods of victory based on a fighters skillset and matchup can improve your predictions and even impress your friends.
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