10-point must system

The 10-point must system is a method of scoring a fighting match (e.g., boxing or mixed martial arts (MMA)) in which the judges must give the winner of a round 10 points, and the loser 9 points or fewer. A knock down usually results in a score of eight (8) for the boxer who was knocked down, and ten (10) for his or her opponent (provided, of course, the knocked-down boxer gets up before the end of the count and finishes it). A judge may occasionally award a 10 - 8 score if the round's winner is obviously dominating the other fighter. If the fight progresses through all scheduled rounds, the sum of the scores for each round are tallied for each judge to determine the winner of the match. If unable to continue the fight before that number of rounds has been fought, the fight is ruled a "no contest." If a fighter loses points by committing fouls, or a round is judged as without a clear winner, this may result in awarding an equal number of points to each fighter, so even with an odd number of rounds and an odd number of judges, draws are possible. Each foul usually costs one point, and is determined by the referee. A round that is considered a draw is usually scored as a 10 - 10 round.

coring example

In a three-round fight between Alan and Brian...
* Judge 1 scores the rounds 10-9, 10-9, 9-9 for a final tally of 29-27 in favor of Alan
* Judge 2 scores the rounds 10-9, 9-10, 9-8 for a final tally of 28-27 in favor of Alan
* Judge 3 scores the rounds 10-8, 9-10, 9-9 for a final tally of 28-27 in favor Alan...resulting in a unanimous decision for Alan.

ee also

* Split decision
* Majority decision