Although individual organizations sometimes use different rules, the most widely used rules of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competitions are called the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which are followed by MMA organizations worldwide. MMA rules define the format of the fight, the rules for winning, and which acts constitute legal techniques and which are
fouls. The rules also define
weight classes.
Under MMA rules, each round lasts 5 minutes and there are 1 minute breaks between rounds. Title matches may go 5 rounds but other matches must not exceed three rounds. Clothing is limited to approved shorts, with no shoes or any other foot padding allowed, and fighters must used approved, lightweight gloves that allow fingers to grab. The ring, or cage, is an eight sided platform enclosed by metal fencing or a net.
There are several ways through which a fighter can win an MMA match:
Knockout: The winning fighter knocks his opponent unconscious.
Submission: The winning fighter forces his opponent to admit defeat, either by tapping three times on the cage floor or on his opponent's body, or by verbally admitting defeat.
Technical Knockout (TKO): A match may be ended and a fighter declared victorious when either the referee, a doctor stop the match, or the fighter's corner staff throw in a towel. This only occurs if the fighter is no longer able to intelligently defend himself from attacks or if a fighter is deemed unable to safely proceed due to injury.
Decision: If both fighters continue until the match is completed, the winner will be determined by a panel of 3 judges according to the ten-point must system.
Disqualification: When an illegal technique is performed, the guilty fighter is given a warning. Three warnings or injury to the receiving fighter that prevents him from continuing stops the fight and the fighter who committed the act is disqualified.
Forfeit: A fighter will be declared the winner if his opponent forefeit the match before it begins.
No Contest: A "no contest" fight is declared when both fighters violate the rules or one is unable to proceed due to an accidental (rather than deliberate) illegal technique. In this case neither wins.
MMA organizations such as the International Fight League, the PRIDE Fighting Championships add minor variations to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.
