The Full History of the 10-Point Must Scoring System

🥊 Origins in Boxing (1940s–1960s)

The 10-Point Must System was introduced in 1946 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. At the time, it was seen as a way to bring structure and consistency to the chaotic, disorganized, and often corrupt world of professional boxing.

Before this, fights were scored with inconsistent methods—some by newspapers, others by wildly differing regional rules, and many by the subjective opinions of judges who often favored local fighters or those backed by promoters.

The idea behind the new system was simple:

• The winner of the round must receive 10 points.
• The loser receives 9 or fewer.
• Knockdowns and dominant rounds typically deduct additional points.
• Even rounds are rare, but both fighters can be awarded 10.

Judges were told to score based on four broad and vague criteria:

• Clean punching
• Effective aggressiveness
• Ring generalship
• Defense

📉 The Decay: Problems in Boxing (1970s–2000s)

As boxing grew into a major televised sport, the flaws in the 10-Point Must System became more obvious—and more damaging.

• Controversial decisions became common. Judges would award rounds based on personal preferences: favoring defensive slickness over aggression, or vice versa—often in contradiction to what fans clearly saw.
• Corruption scandals plagued the sport. Ties to promoters, managers, and even organized crime meant some scorecards seemed pre-written.
• High-profile fighters suffered robberies. Marvin Hagler, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Gennady Golovkin were all on the wrong end of decisions that fans still call robberies.
• Failed to reflect dominance. A fighter could barely win five rounds and get blown out in the other two, and still walk away with a draw—or even a win.

🥋 How MMA Got Dragged Into It (1990s–2000s)

When MMA exploded in the 1990s and early 2000s, it had the chance to create a scoring system tailored for its unique challenges. But instead of something new, MMA adopted the exact same scoring system from boxing.

Why?

Because commissions were already using it.

When the Unified Rules of MMA were created in 2001, the 10-point must system came along for the ride—not because it worked for MMA, but because it was already on the books. The New Jersey State Athletic Commission adopted it, and the rest of the country followed.

🤦‍♂ Why the 10-Point Must System Doesn't Work for MMA

MMA is not boxing. It's far more complex.

You're not just judging punches. You're judging:

• Striking (hands, feet, elbows, knees)
• Takedowns
• Grappling
• Submissions
• Ground control
• Positional dominance
• Fight-ending attempts

Worse, it leads to absurd scoring outcomes:

• Judges with no grappling knowledge undervalue submissions or ground control.
• Fighters who dominate 4 minutes of a round but get clipped in the last 20 seconds often lose the round.
• A round where almost nothing happens is scored the same as one with takedowns, ground control, and damage—just as a 10–9.
• A fighter can barely win three rounds while getting smashed in two—and still win the fight on points.