Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several
In boxing, each of the three judges keep score (round by round) of which fighter they feel is winning (and losing). This only includes landed blows to the head or the body. In MMA, judges look for different criteria such as kicks, take downs, punches, knees, elbows, cage control, submission attempts and aggression.[2] A decision is not required to be unanimous for a boxer or mixed martial artist to be given a victory. In modern era of Olympic boxing, UD is utilized more often than other outcomes including stoppages.[3] Unanimous decision should not be confused with a majority decision or split decision.
History
In the early days of combat fighting, winners were determined only when one party was unable to continue the fight.[4] The National Sporting Club started to promote professional glove fighting, and introduced the use of officials and their capacity to declare the winner of a fight. Officials began using a scoring system to determine the winner of the fight and this made unanimous decisions a logical outcome.
Any combat sports decision has the potential to be overturned. Some reason for this may include counting errors, misdeclaration, and retroactive disqualification due to rule violations. There has never been a unanimous decision overturned.
Notable unanimous decisions
Date | Winner | Opponent | Notes |
March 8, 1971
|
Joe Frazier | Muhammad Ali | For WBA, WBC, and vacant The Ring heavyweight titles |
January 28, 1974 | Muhammad Ali | Joe Frazier | Retained NABF heavyweight title |
March 7, 1987 | Mike Tyson | James Smith | Retained WBC heavyweight title;
Won WBA heavyweight title; Heavyweight unification series |
June 11, 2009 | Georges St-Pierre | Thiago Alves | Defended the UFC Welterweight Championship. |
May 2, 2015 | Floyd Mayweather Jr | Manny Pacquiao | Retained WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles;
Won WBO welterweight title |
February 8, 2020 | Jon Jones | Dominick Reyes | Defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
Controversial unanimous decisions
Date | Winner | Opponent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
December 5, 1947 | Joe Louis | Joe Walcott | Scores were split in favor of Louis: 6–7, 8–6, 9–6.[5] |
April 10, 2010 | B.J. Penn | Frankie Edgar | Lost the UFC Lightweight Championship.[6] |
February 4, 2012 | Carlos Condit | Nick Diaz | Won the interim UFC Welterweight Championship.[6] |
July 2, 2017 | Jeff Horn | Manny Pacquiao | Lost WBO welterweight title |
February 12, 2023 | Islam Makhachev | Alexander Volkanovski | Retained UFC lightweight Championship.[7] |
Notable athletes
Boxing
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. - 20 wins by UD
- Muhammad Ali - 18 wins by UD
- Manny Pacquiao - 18 wins by UD
- Joe Louis - 9 wins by UD
MMA
- Jon Jones - 9 wins by UD
- Anderson Silva - 9 wins by UD
- Georges St-Pierre - 10 wins by UD
- Kamaru Usman - 9 wins by UD
See also
- 10 Point System
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Olympic Games
- Split decision
- Majority decision
- Knockout
References
- ^ "Decision - BoxRec". Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Unified Rules - Learn the Rules of MMA | C.O.M.M.A.N.D." mmareferee.com. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- S2CID 144839570.
- )
- ^ Markarian, Ray. "The 10 Most Controversial Decisions in Boxing History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ a b MacDonald, James. "The 10 Most Controversial Judging Decisions in UFC History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ Verdict MMA[dead link]