Ultimate Fighting Championship | UFC Fight Rules and Regulations

  • Matches shall be held in the following manner.
    1. One-match fights:
      Each match consists of three (3) minutes X five (5) rounds or three (3) minutes X three (3) rounds.
    2. Tournament Fights:
      Each match consists of three (3) minutes X three (3) rounds. In consideration of fighter safety, no fighter shall participate in more than fifteen (15) rounds in one day.
  1. When a fighter is down, and the three (3) minute time is up while the referee is still counting, the following shall apply:
    1. For all rounds except the final round, the timekeeper signals the end of the round. However, the referee continues to count, and if the counts exceed ten (10) counts, the downed fighter will be considered knocked out.
    2. For all final rounds, the timekeeper shall signal the end of the round and the match is completed even if the ‘Down’ count is not completed. (ie. Fighters may be saved by the bell only in the final round.)
    3. The final round, in this case, is defined as the round prior to the decision in the event that the winner is to be determined by decision. Therefore, an extra round may be considered as the final round.

  • The match shall be held in a 7.2 m X 7.2 m boxing ring surrounded by 4-level ropes.
  • Each fighter shall wear regulation gloves provided by the promoter, a protective cup, and a mouthpiece. Contact lenses are also prohibited. Gloves sizes for each weight class are as follows:
  • Flyweight Under — 50.80kg — 6 oz.
    Bantamweight Under — 53.50kg — 6 oz.
    Featherweight Under — 57.15kg — 6 oz.
    Lightweight Under — 61.23kg — 8 oz.
    Welterweight Under — 66.68kg — 8 oz.
    Middleweight Under — 72.57kg — 8 oz.
    Light Heavyweight Under — 79.38kg — 10 oz.
    Cruiserweight Under — 86.18kg — 10 oz.
    Heavyweight Over — 86.18 kg — 10 oz.

  • Awarding of points shall be based on the following elements: 
  1. Whether an effective and accurate attack is recognized, and the damage is inflicted on the opponent by authorized fighting techniques. Each match consists of three (3) minutes X five (5) rounds of three (3) minutes X three (3) rounds.
  2. Points will be awarded in this priority:
    (1) Number of downs
    (2) The extent of damage inflicted on the opponent
    (3) Number of clean hits
    (4) Degree of aggressiveness (points in the offensive)

The dominant fighter shall be awarded a score of ten (10), and points shall be deducted from his opponent.

  • UFC Category of Outcome
  1. DECISION:
    Applicable when there is no knockout, technical knockout, or disqualification to decide the winner. Three (3) judges shall award points to each fighter, and the fighter with the higher point total at the end of the final round from two (2) out of three (3) judges shall be declared the winner.
  2. DRAW:
    (a) Applicable when the winner is not determined by a decision of the judges.
    (b) Applicable when both fighters go down at the same time and neither rises to his feet before or at the call of count nine (9).
  3. KNOCKOUT (KO):
    (a) Applicable when a fighter does not stand up before the call of count ten (10). Or when a referee decides the fighter cannot stand up within the call of count ten (10).
    (b) Applicable when a fighter is judged to have lost his will to continue to fight, even though he has stood up within the call of count ten (10), and/or when a fighter is judged to be incapable of continuing the fight.
    (c) Applicable when a fighter goes down three (3) times in a round (or two (2) times in a tournament fight except in the final match).
  4. TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT (TKO):
    (a) Applicable when the referee judges that it is impossible to continue the match due to an accidental injury (of neither fighter’s fault) to a fighter. 
    (b) Applicable when a cornerman throws a towel into the ring during the course of a match. In the event that the referee does not notice the towel being thrown in, the official observer is authorized to announce the end of the match.
    (c) Referee Stop: Applicable when the referee judges that one fighter is overwhelmingly superior to his opponent and the inferior fighter is in a physically perilous condition.
    (d) Doctor Stop: Applicable when the official physician judges that it is impossible to continue the match due to an injury or severe damage to a fighter. If a fighter is down and has sustained severe damage, the official physician has the option to stop the match, accordingly to the deliberation.
  5. NO CONTEST (NULL and VOID match)
    (a) Applicable when both fighters are found to be guilty of a rule(s) violation, match-fixing, or collusion.
    (b) Applicable when both fighters fail to fight in good faith (a spiritless fight) after repeated cautions and warnings by the referee, and when the referee declares disqualification of both fighters.
    (c) Applicable when both fighters are judged as not being able to continue the match due to an accidental injury of neither fighter’s fault in a one-match fight, where the fight is not justified. 
  • UFC Authorized Fighting Techniques

The following fighting techniques are authorized.

Punches: Straight punches, hooks, uppers, and backspin blows.

Kicks: Front kicks, low kicks, middle kicks, high kicks, sidekicks, back kicks, inner thigh kicks, jumping kicks, and knee kicks.

  • UFC Foul Techniques

A fighter who executes a foul technique shall be penalized with caution, warning, or a point reduction. Two (2) cautions shall lead to one (1) warning for the first two (2) cautions; however, a warning shall be given for any cautions thereafter. Two (2) warnings shall lead to a point reduction, and three (3) point reductions in one (1) round shall be grounds for disqualification. This clause shall not apply in cases where the judges rule that the foul technique as unintentional.

(a) The following are defined as fouls:

  1. Using the head to deliver a blow.
  2. Using the elbow.
  3. Attacking the opponent in the groin (attacks to the groin with knee kicks or hand techniques shall be considered as low-blows and will be ruled as fouls).
  4. Using techniques from wrestling or judo such as throwing or submission techniques.
  5. Thumbing, choking or biting on the opponent.
  6. Attacking the opponent while he is down or in the process of getting up.
  7. Attacking the opponent while the referee is intervening to separate the fighters.
  8. Holding the ropes to attack the opponent, or to avoid the attack from the opponent.
  9. However, this is not applicable in the situation in case the referee determines that it is inevitable to hold the ropes.
  10. Using offensive or insulting language.
  11. Attacking the back of the head with a punch (the side of the head and the area around the ears are not considered as the back of the head and are valid target areas).
  12. Attempting to cause the opponent to fall out of the ring.
  13. Voluntarily exiting the ring during the course of a match.

(b) A point reduction may be given immediately to a fighter if the judges find that a foul technique was inflicted with malicious intent.

(c) A caution shall be given to a fighter who repeatedly charges inside the opponent’s arms, with his head held low (ie. to avoid attack). This shall be considered as inducing a head-butt. In case that either of the fighters gets cut from a head-butt and is bleeding, the fighter who has caused the other to get cut shall receive a one (1) point reduction, even if the head-butt was not intentional. However, if the referee finds the head-butt to have been intentional, a reduction of two (2) points shall be given. If both fighters get cut and are bleeding, a one (1) point reduction shall be given to each fighter.

(d) A caution, warning, and a point reduction shall be given to a fighter who repeatedly uses holds and clinches that are not accompanied by attacks, and are judged as being defensive/passive in nature (ie. to avoid attack). The same applies to grasp and holding the opponent immediately after launching an attack (ie. to avoid a counter-attack) and may also result in a point reduction. Two (2) cautions will sum up to one (1) warning, and the next caution shall be a deduction of one (1) point. This particular caution shall be counted separately and not cumulative with other cautions.

(f) Continuously holding the kicking leg of an opponent is judged as a foul. However, a single attack, while holding the leg is authorized. Continuous attack while holding a leg is a foul. If a fighter does not take any action while holding the kicking leg, the referee shall call a break. Holding the kicking leg and using a throwing technique is also a foul.

  • UFC Disqualification

A fighter shall be disqualified when:

  1. A fighter intentionally uses a foul technique.
  2. A fighter fails to follow the referee’s instructions during a match.
  3. A fighter is late for a match or does not show up at all.
  4. A fighter exhibits ill-mannered behavior or a malicious attitude during a match.
  5. The referee determines that a fighter does not have the will to fight.
  6. When a fighter receives three (3) point reductions within one (1) round, counting two (2) warnings as one (1) point reduction.
  7. The official physician deems a fighter unfit to fight as a result of a medical check.
  8. A cornerman has entered in the ring or touched one of the fighters during the match.
  9. A fighter is found to have broken other rules.

RULES FOR UFC

  1. Mixed martial arts contests and exhibitions may be held in a ring or in a fenced area
  2. Bandages shall be evenly distributed across the hand and fighters must wear a mouthguard
  3. Male mixed martial artists shall wear a groin protector; female mixed martial artists shall wear a chest protector
  4. All contestants shall wear glove which is at least 4 ounces and gloves should generally next exceed 6 ounces
  5. Each championship mixed martial arts contest is to be for 5 rounds, each round no more than 5 minutes duration, with a rest period of 1 minute between each round.
  6. All bouts will be evaluated and scored by 3 judges who shall evaluate the contest from different location around the ring/fighting area. The referee may not be one of the 3 judges.
  7. Judges shall evaluate mixed martial arts techniques, such as effective striking, effective grappling, control of the ring/fighting area, effective aggressiveness and defense. Each round will be scored on a 10-point system
  8. There are 31 different types of foul – including spitting, hair pulling, kicking the head of a grounded opponent. The referee can DQ a fighter if there are a series of the foul.

Current Champions of UFC Men’s

  • Flyweight- Henry Cejudo
    Bantamweight- Henry Cejudo
    Featherweight -Alexander Volkanovski
    Lightweight- Khabib Nurmagomedov
    Welterweight- Kumaru Usman
    Middleweight- Israel Adesanya
    Light Heavyweight- Jon Jones
    Heavyweight- Stipe Miocic
Current Champions of UFC Women’s
  • Featherweight- Amanda Nunes
  • Bantamweight- Amanda Nunes
  • Flyweight- Valentina Shevchenko
  • Strawweight- Zhang Weili

 

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