2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 41 - Sports, Racing, and Athletics › Chapter 41-5.2 - Mixed Martial Arts › Section 41-5.2-18. - Uniform rules — Judging.

§ 41-5.2-18. Uniform rules — Judging.
(a)
All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three (3) judges.
(b)
The ten-point (10) must system will be the standard system of scoring a bout. Under the ten-point (10) must scoring system, ten points (10) must be awarded to the winner of the round and nine (9) points or less must be awarded to the loser, except for a rare even round, which is scored (10-10).
(c)
Judges shall evaluate mixed martial arts techniques, such as effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area, effective aggressiveness and defense.
(d)
Evaluations shall be made in the order in which the techniques appear in subsection (c), giving the most weight in scoring to effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area, and effective aggressiveness and defense.
(e)
Effective striking is judged by determining the total number of legal heavy strikes landed by a contestant.
(f)
Effective grappling is judged by considering the amount of successful executions of a legal takedown or reversals. Examples of factors to consider are takedowns from standing position to mount position, passing the guard to mount position, and bottom position fighters using an active, threatening guard.
(g)
Fighting area control is judged by determining who is dictating the pace, location, and position of the fight. Examples of factors to consider are countering a grappler’s attempt at takedown by remaining standing and legally striking; taking down an opponent to force a ground fight; creating threatening submission attempts and passing the guard to achieve mount; and creating striking opportunities.
(h)
Effective aggressiveness means moving forward and landing a legal strike.
(i)
Effective defense means avoiding being struck, taken down, or reversed while countering with offensive attacks.
(j)
The following objective scoring criteria shall be utilized by the judges when scoring a round:
(1)
A round is to be scored as a 10-10 round when both contestants appear to be fighting evenly and neither contestant shows clear dominance in a round;
(2)
A round is to be scored as a 10-9 round when a contestant wins by a close margin, landing the greater number of effective legal strikes, grappling, and other maneuvers;
(3)
A round is to be scored as a 10-8 round when a contestant overwhelmingly dominates by striking or grappling in a round;
(4)
A round is to be scored as a 10-7 round when a contestant totally dominates by striking or grappling in the round.
(k)
Judges shall use a sliding scale and recognize the length of time the fighters are either standing or on the ground, as follows:
(1)
If the mixed martial artists spent a majority of a round on the canvas, then:
(i)
Effective grappling is weighed first; and
(ii)
Effective striking is then weighed.
(2)
If the mixed martial artists spent a majority of a round standing, then:
(i)
Effective striking is weighed first; and
(ii)
Effective grappling is then weighed.
(3)
If a round ends with a relatively even amount of standing and canvas fighting, striking and grappling are weighed equally.
History of Section.
P.L. 2009, ch. 312, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 313, § 1.