WEIGHT CLASSES:

Featherweight---------- over 135 lbs. to 145 lbs.
Lightweight ------------- over 145 lbs. to 155 lbs.
Welterweight ----------- over 155 lbs. to 170 lbs.
Middleweight ----------- over 170 lbs. to 185 lbs.
Light Heavyweight --- over 185 lbs. to 205 lbs.
Heavyweight ----------- over 205 lbs. to 265 lbs.

 

* Weigh in will occur no more than 24 hours prior to the contest.

 

Fighters will be given a (1) Pound allowance at Weigh In

 

TIME LIMITS:

All non-championship / Amateur contests will be three rounds.
All championship bouts will be five rounds.
Rounds will be three minutes in duration.
A one-minute rest period will occur between each round.

 

FIGHTING SURFACE:

(a) The fighting area canvas shall be no smaller than 18 feet by 18 feet and no larger than 32 feet by 32 feet. The fighting area canvas shall be padded in a manner as approved by the promoter. Padding shall extend beyond the fighting area and over the edge of the platform. Vinyl or natural canvases are the only acceptable surfaces.

 

(b) The fighting area canvas shall not be more than four feet above the floor of the building and shall have suitable step(s) or ramp(s) for use by the participants. Posts shall be made of metal not more than six inches in diameter, extending from the floor of the building to a minimum height of 58 inches above the fighting area canvas and shall be properly padded in a manner approved by the Commissioner.

 

(c) The fighting area canvas area shall be enclosed by ropes or a fence made of such material as will not allow a fighter to fall out or break through it onto the floor or spectators, including, but not limited to, vinyl coated chain link fencing. All metal parts shall be covered and padded in a manner approved by the Commissioner and shall not be abrasive to the contestants.

 

(d) The fence shall provide two separate entries onto the fighting area canvas

 

JUDGING:

(a) All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three judges.

 

(b) The 10-Point Must System will be the standard system of scoring a bout. Under the 10-Point Must Scoring System, 10 points must be awarded to the winner of the round and nine 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, and control of the fighting area, effective aggressiveness and defense.

 

(d) Evaluations shall be made in the order in which the techniques appear in (c) above, 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 and reversals. Examples of factors to consider are take downs 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 bout. 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, 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 a 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
    iii. If a round ends with a relatively even amount of standing & canvas fighting, striking & grappling are weighed equally.

FOULS:

1. Butting with the head.

2. Eye gouging of any kind.

3. Biting.

4. Hair pulling.

5. Fish hooking.

6. Groin attacks of any kind.

7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.

8. Small joint manipulation.

9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.

10. Elbow Strikes of any kind.

11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.

12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.

13. Grabbing the clavicle.

14. Kicking or Kneeing to the Head of a grounded opponent.

15. Use of unapproved Equipment.

16. Stomping or Kicking a grounded opponent.

17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.

18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.

19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.

20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.

21. Spitting at an opponent.

22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.

23. Holding the ropes or the fence.

24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.

25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.

26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.

27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.

28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.

29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the               mouthpiece or faking an injury.

30. Interference by the corner.

31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

 

1. If a combatant fouls his/her opponent during a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts, the referee may warn or penalize him by deducting points from his/her score, whether the foul was intentional or not. The referee may determine the number of points to be deducted in each instance and shall base his/her determination on the severity of the foul and its effect upon the opponent.

 

2. When the referee determines that it is necessary to deduct a point or points because of a foul, he shall verbally notify the offender of the penalty to be assessed. This verbal notice can be given while a fight is in progress so as not to stop the immediate action.

 

3. The referee shall, as soon as is practical after the foul, notify the judges and both combatants and the corners of both combatants of the number of points to be deducted from the score of the offender. In some cases points may not be deducted until the end of a round and verbal notice will be given to the offender during the round if this is the case.

 

4. Any point or points to be deducted for any foul must be deducted in or at the end of the round in which the foul occurred and may not be deducted from the score of any subsequent round.

 

FIGHT OUTCOMES:

1. Submission by: Physical tap out. Verbal tap out.

2. Technical knockout by the referee stopping the contest.

3. Decision via the scorecards, including: Unanimous decision. Split decision. Majority decision. Draw, including: Unanimous draw. Majority draw. Split draw.

4. Technical decision.

5. Technical draw.

6. Disqualification.

7. Forfeit.

8. No contest. **Referee may Restart the Competitors: If the fighters reach a stalemate and do not work to improve position or finish

 

EQUIPMENT:

Competitors may only use ACS or ACL provided approved 4-6 oz gloves, designed to protect the hand but not large enough to improve the striking surface or weight of the punch.
Commission approved MMA shorts and kickboxing trunks are the only uniforms allowed. Shirts, GIs and shoes are not allowed. Mouthpieces are mandatory. In the event of a mouthpiece falling out during competition, the Referee will call time and the mouthpiece will be cleaned and returned to the competitor. The competitors will be re-started in the position in which time was called.

 

All wrapped hands will be inspected; gloves will be checked and taped/initialed by ACS / ACL personnel. Male competitors will be required to wear a protective cup. Female competitors will be encouraged to wear a chest protector. Competitors are allowed to tape or wrap their ankles.