ABC to vote on revised scoring criteria

The Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) will vote on a proposed revision of MMA judging criteria next month.

Earlier this year, the ABC's MMA committee, headed by former Bellator play-by-play commentator Sean Wheelock, unanimously approved new scoring language, namely a looser definition of what constitutes a 10-8 round. The revamped verbiage's fate will be decided by the ABC at its convention on Aug. 1. If passed, the criteria wouldn't go into effect until Jan. 1, 2017.

According to the proposal and MMA Fighting, judges would have to consider scoring a 10-8 based on any two parameters among damage, dominance, and duration of a round. If a round has all three, then it must be given a 10-8, and a 10-7 can then be entertained.

The proposal also prioritizes striking and grappling over fighting area control and aggression. The latter two may be considered strictly in a tiebreaking capacity, provided the former two are equal for both fighters.

Read the proposal here: