UFC events are split into three different types:
Pay-per-view events are simply named by UFC and then the event number (e.g. UFC 281), and are the biggest events held by the UFC. These typically feature championship bouts and often include more than one title fight on the card.
Pay-per-view events are traditionally held in big arenas, with many hosted in the UFC’s home city of Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena.
These are smaller-scale shows that either take place in cities across the world, or at the UFC’s purpose-built facility the UFC Apex, in Las Vegas. Fight Night events tend to feature up-and-coming talent, with bouts between potential future title contenders often booked to headline cards. They are generally shown on streaming platform ESPN+ in the US, and are named and numbered accordingly (e.g. UFC on ESPN+ 42).
Some UFC events each year are shown on either ESPN or ABC in the US (e.g. UFC on ESPN 33 or UFC on ABC 2).
These have a similar setup to UFC Fight Night events, often with title eliminator bouts in the main event slot.
UFC events are booked and announced regularly throughout the year. The UFC’s showpiece pay-per-view events tend to be announced earlier, with dates and locations often released before the bouts themselves are confirmed for the card. Confirmed fight cards for significant pay-per-view events are often officially announced during other major UFC shows.
The individual fights themselves tend to be announced on an ad-hoc basis, either directly from the UFC, or via media reports that have confirmed a matchup from both fighters’ management teams. Established and respected MMA news outlets consistently report these bouts throughout the year.
The UFC tends to stage one numbered pay-per-view event per calendar month, with UFC Fight Night and UFC on ESPN/ABC events filling the weeks in-between. Fight nights are almost always held on a Saturday, and typically operate on prime time, either on the US West Coast or East Coast timezone.
The only exceptions to this are events held overseas, with shows in Europe and Asia usually held at primetime for the local TV audience.
UFC results are straightforward to understand. Rather than a final score, the result is stated as one fighter defeating the other (or a draw), with the method of victory, the round, the time in the deciding round, or the judges’ scores as appropriate.
There are many different types of UFC result. The following are possible when the fight is stopped due to a victory:
Knockout (KO): A strike that renders a fighter unconscious, or unable to continue.
Technical knockout (TKO): This occurs when the referee intervenes to prevent a fighter from further damage due to strikes delivered by their opponent.
Submission: A technique that forces the opponent to voluntarily submit (usually via a tap to their opponent).
Technical submission: A grappling technique that renders a fighter unconscious, or unable to continue.
The following results are possible when the fight has lasted for the full duration:
Unanimous decision: All three judges score the bout for the same fighter.
Split decision: Two judges score the fight for one fighter, and the third scores for the other fighter.
Majority decision: Two judges score the fight for one fighter, and the third scores the fight a draw.
Unanimous draw: All three judges score the bout a draw.
Split draw: One judge scores the fight a draw, one scores it for one fighter, and the other scores it for the other fighter.
Majority draw: Two judges score the fight a draw, and the third scores it in favor of one fighter.
Other results are also possible for a UFC fight:
Disqualification: The referee ends the fight due to a deliberate illegal technique that renders the opponent unable to continue.
No contest: The referee ends the fight due to an accidental foul that leaves a fighter unable to continue, or due to external factors that make continuing the fight impossible.
UFC fights are judged by three independent judges, appointed by the state athletic commission, who sit cageside, equally spaced around the perimeter.
Fights are scored on a round-by-round basis, using the “10-point must” system also seen in boxing, where the fighter winning the round is awarded 10 points, and their opponent receives nine points or fewer. If a round is considered by the judge to be completely and totally even, they can opt to score a round 10-10.
Rounds are scored using a fixed set of prioritized judging criteria:
Effective striking and grappling: Assessing the impact and effect of legal strikes and grappling techniques used during the round.
Effective aggression: Deciding which fighter is aggressively making more attempts to finish the fight.
Octagon control: Deciding which fighter is dictating the pace, place, and position of the bout.
Each judge scores each round based on the first criteria (effective striking and grappling), and only moves on to the second and third criteria when necessary to break a tie for that round.
Here is an example of a UFC results card:
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