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MMA and boxing scoring, styles and simulation

Mixed martial arts and boxing are scored by judges round by round, and most of the confusion around them comes from that: why a fighter who threw more can lose a decision, what the 10-point must system actually rewards, and how three judges watching the same fight can return three different cards. These guides cover judging, weight classes, records, stances and the style matchups that decide fights.

They sit alongside 40-0 MMA & Boxing Fight Draft, our fight draft game, which simulates mixed martial arts and boxing separately: mixed martial arts bouts end by knockout, technical knockout, submission or decision, while boxing adds draws and judges’ scorecards. The guides explain the real sports first, then how a simulator decides a bout.

Our MMA and boxing app

40-0 MMA & Boxing Fight Draft is a draft and GM game for a stable of fighters. You draft from separate mixed martial arts and boxing pools, weighing ratings, records, eras and weight classes, then sign fighters, manage contracts and move contenders toward title shots, with seven ways to draft.

Where to start

  • Start with how fights are scored

    The boxing scoring guide and the MMA judging guide explain the 10-point must system and why scorecards disagree.

  • Then the divisions and the records

    The weight classes guide explains how fighters are grouped, and the records guide explains what a line such as 30-2-1 (18 KO) means.

  • Then the styles

    Striking against grappling and southpaw against orthodox are the matchups a fight simulator has to model; the style matchups guide explains how ours does it.

Start here

Rules and how the sport works

Statistics and what they measure

Strategy, tactics and team-building

Getting more from the simulators

Guides for any sport

These use our MMA and boxing app as the example, but the ideas apply to every sport. More are collected on the sports index.

Calculators

Good to know

MMA and boxing: common questions

What is 40-0 MMA & Boxing Fight Draft?
A draft and GM game covering mixed martial arts and boxing. You draft fighters across eras and weight classes, two separate simulators settle every bout, and GM Mode handles signings, contracts and pushes toward title shots.
How is a boxing round scored?
Under the 10-point must system, each judge gives the winner of the round ten points and the loser nine or fewer, so a knockdown usually widens the margin. The boxing scoring guide covers the details and how commissions apply them.
Why do MMA judges disagree?
Each judge scores every round independently against the same criteria, applied in order — effective striking and grappling first, then effective aggressiveness, then fighting area control — and close rounds can reasonably go either way. The MMA judging guide explains the order of the criteria.
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