Combat Sports, explained.
Boxing and mixed martial arts: scoring, weight cutting, sanctioning bodies and how a fight is actually won on the cards.
7 articlesExplainer
- ExplainerBoxing gloves and wraps rules, and who actually checks them18 minWhere the eight and ten ounce glove line falls at each sanctioning body, what a legal hand wrap contains, and why an inspector sits in the changing room.
- ExplainerWeight cutting in MMA explained, and why the clock causes it20 minHow weight cutting in MMA works: the water, not the fat, the fight-week timeline, why a day-before weigh-in created the incentive, and what a real fix needs.
- ExplainerThe WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO explained, and why four belts exist19 minWhat the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO actually do, how sanctioning fees work, what interim and super titles are for, and why undisputed champions rarely last.
- ExplainerUFC rules explained: the fouls, the stoppages, the reasons20 minThe unified rules of MMA, clause by clause: the fouls list, the grounded opponent definition, how a fight ends, and which rules protect fighters.
- ExplainerMMA judging criteria explained, and why rounds go wrong19 minHow MMA judges score a round under the unified rules: damage first, what a takedown is really worth, when a 10-8 is owed, and why three cards still disagree.
- ExplainerHow UFC matchmaking works, and who really picks the fights19 minWho decides a UFC matchup, why the rankings only advise, when an interim title appears, how a card gets built, and why a fighter's leverage is so weak.
- ExplainerThe boxing scoring system explained, and why judges disagree18 minHow the ten-point must system works, what 10-9, 10-8 and 10-7 actually mean, how deductions reach the cards, and why three judges see three different fights.