What is a point deduction in MMA?
A point deduction is a penalty the referee imposes for a foul: a point, occasionally two, comes off the fouling fighter's score for that round on all three judges' cards.
How it works
The referee, not the judges, decides on a deduction. Common fouls include strikes to the groin, eye pokes, grabbing the fence or the opponent's gloves or shorts, strikes to the back of the head, and kicks or knees to the head of a grounded opponent. The referee usually warns a fighter first, but can take a point straight away for a flagrant foul, and repeated fouls can end in disqualification.
The judges score the round as normal and the deduction is then applied to it.
Worked example
A judge scores round 3 10-9 for fighter A, but A was docked a point for grabbing the fence, so the round becomes 9-9 on that card. If the judge had A ahead 29-28 overall, the card ends 28-28: a draw on that card.
Good to know
Deductions are part of the official scorecard record, alongside each judge's round scores, so they can turn a narrow win into a draw or a majority decision.
Where to see it on UFCalendar
Get it from the API
The same data is served as JSON by the MMA Fight Data API. The endpoints that carry it:
GET /v1/fights/{id}/scorecardsJudges' scorecards for any bout: every official, their score for each round, card totals, decision type and point deductions.
UFC scorecards in the Fight API →