There are many fans who enjoy the sport but fail to grasp the basics of scoring a fight. Some seem to need to see knockouts to get a sense of who is winning. This is unfortunate. Many fights that go the distance can be just as exciting if not more exciting than those that end early. A basic understanding of how matches are scored should help fans new and old know who is ahead and by what margin.

Matches are divided into rounds. In standard matches, there are five 3-minute rounds (5x3). Since 2003, the K-1 has been experimenting with the 3x3 format with one or two overtime rounds to overrule a draw. Other promotion companies have different standards either on their own or through a sanctioning organization. Bouts without knees, for instance, can have up to twelve 2-minute rounds (12x2).

The object of the game called kickboxing is to win more rounds than the opponent. If Red wins 3 rounds and losses 2, he will be declared the winner. The standard manner of winning a round is to land more clean strikes. Some fighters have terrible aim and, despite launching 100 strikes per round, fail to land enough to score. Other fighters make contact with the glove but, in terms of impact needed to score, fall short. Good judges use their eyes to see if the strike landed in the target zone and use their ears to determine if it had enough impact to score. It is important to avoid turning kickboxing into a game of professional tag.

In amateur boxing the number of clean strikes determines the whole fight. In professional kickboxing, the number of clean strikes determines the round and the number of rounds a fighter wins determines the fight. The following example will illustrate the difference:

In the above example, we see that Red won the first 3 rounds and lost the last 2. We can also see that Blue managed to tally more strikes overall but still lost 2 rounds to 3. Fights like the above tend to shock new fans. They see the strong finish by Blue and are disgusted to see Red named the winner. If Red had won the last 3 rounds instead of the first 3, opinion would shift again. Fighters, on the other hand, know that winning rounds is the key to victory.

Judges do not submit strike counts as scores. They instead have to judge the winner of a round based on the strike count. The winner of the round receives a score of 10 and the loser receives a 9. Let’s look at the above example from the perspective of judges scores:

Next, rounds are timed and both fighters are responsible for staying on their feet for the full time. If a fighter is injured from legal strikes and needs the referee to give him time regain his composure, there is a price. An eight count (or standing down) will give the opponent the round 10-8 unless the fighter taking the timeout can mount an incredible come back and salvage the loss at 10-9 (rare). Therefore, in addition to falling behind a point for every round a fighter loses, every timeout from the action costs another point. In the following example, we see how a single 8-count can affect a fighter’s score

We can see in the above example that Red has won one round and Blue has won two rounds but the score is a draw after three rounds [28-28]. If Blue had fought rounds 2 and 3 to a draw, he would need to win the last two rounds to simply secure a draw over all. Like the 8-count, a fighter receives a count when he is knocked to the canvas. He must stand up on he own power and let the referee judge if he is fit to continue. The penalty for taking this kind of timeout from the round is the same as the 8-count. Other kinds of stoppages are generally regarded as operations type breaks: doctors checking cuts, fighters climbing back in the ring if they fell out, replacing a mouthpiece, etc. The situation would be more dire if he received 2 timeouts from the referee. The second would remove yet another point. Here is the example:

In the above example, Blue needed to win 3 of the remaining 4 rounds to even the score with Red who only won round 1. The final round would then decide the fight.

Besides penalties for not being able to fight the full time of the round, there are penalties for malicious fouls. Most organizations have a warning system of some kind. The K-1 uses a yellow card for warnings and a red card for full point deductions. Typically, one will receive 2 yellow cards before receiving the first red card, but exceptions do exist when a foul is regarded as intentional and/or damaging. Continuing with the above example, let’s add a red card against Blue in the first round in addition to the 2 counts.

In the above example, we see that Blue won every round except the first yet only managed a draw due to the 3 penalties in the opening round [2 timeouts and 1 foul]. It is safe to say that the above example is only to illustrate the mathematics of scoring a fight. Such a scenario is has a very remote chance of ever happening.

Like the 8-count and the knockdown, a fighter may not be able to finish the fight. In some cases, he fails to stand in time after a knockdown, the referee believes that he needs more time to recover than permitted, or he needs more than two timeouts in one round. In these cases, regardless of how many points he collected, the fighter who fails to finish the fight loses by KO or TKO. In the following example, we can see Blue winning rounds 1 to 4 with 2 knockdowns each and then losing by KO.

In the above example, Blue was leading on the scorecards by an astonishing 40-28. The time of the KO has no bearing on the result of the fight. If it happened on the last second of the final round it will still be recognized and the fighter will have to climb to his feet after the bell if necessary.

Technical decisions are decisions to abbreviated fights. In some cases, a foul ends a fight, but it is ruled accidental and not a disqualification. These decisions vary for different promoters and sanctioning organizations. The K-1 for instance has started scoring partial rounds. This means that if an accidental foul happens in round 3 and the fight cannot continue, the judges will submit scores for round 1 and 2 as usual but will also include scores for the 3^rd [incomplete] round. The fighter who committed the foul typically receives an automatic red card (one point deduction). In the following example, we see Blue foul Red in the third round.

In the above example, we see Blue win round 1, draw round 2 and lose round 3 (even though it was not completed). Normally, this would be an overall draw, but the point deduction for the foul gave the edge to Red.

Judges

It is standard for scores to be compiled by 3 judges. Each judge reaches a conclusion after each round and submits his score. He will not know the scores submitted by his counterparts. At the end of the fight, each decision counts as a vote for the winner.

In the following example, all the judges concluded that Red was the winner. This is called a unanimous decision: (U-DEC-5.) or (3-0).