Dana White Announces all UFC main events are 5 rounders!

[Corky]

only heavyweights that can last this new change is prob gonna be cain

[gibb]

The fighters will pace there selves more. Could make long, drug out, boring fights.

[Emir Mehovic]

Think Pettis versus Guida.

Yes!!! Imagion if this was 5 rounds or.... Rampage vs Lyoto, Sanchez vs Guida, Griffen vs Bonner, Penn vs Fitch, the list goes on and on.

[Emir Mehovic]

Yes!!! Imagion if this was 5 rounds or.... Rampage vs Lyoto, Sanchez vs Guida, Griffen vs Bonner, Penn vs Fitch, the list goes on and on.

Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez

[David Rosado]

by Mike Fagan on Jun 9, 2011 6:07 PM EDT in UFC News


There's a celebration going on in the Land of Fagan today. Both Kevin Iole and Brett Okamoto report via Twitter that UFC President Dana White announced that, going forward, all UFC main events will be scheduled for five rounds, regardless of whether a title is at stake. The policy will start following the Rashad Evans/Phil Davis main event at UFC 133, as bout agreements for that fight have already been signed.

There's been no word on whether this applies only PPV/numbered events, or if free TV shows will be headlined by five-rounders as well. [See below.]

I first championed this idea way back in February of 2009 in response to a piece over at Fightlinker. I laid out my reasons for supporting a push for more five-round fights in August of that year:

* More decisive finishes - From my previous post on the topic, I showed that - in a limited sample size - five round title fights are finished 77% of the time as compared to the MMA average of 67% for three round affairs. More fights avoiding the mysterious hands of the judges the better.
* Less importance per round - In a three round fight, each round makes up 33% of a judge's score card. A round in a five round bout is only worth 20%. For example, in the Caol Uno/Spencer Fisher fight at UFC 99, if you score the first two rounds (which were very close) to Fisher, Uno has to win a dominant 10-8 third just for a draw. With two additional rounds, Uno would have ample time to make up lost ground (if not finish his opponent).
* More quality at the top of the cards - I'm an extremist. The more five-round fights, the better. I understand that's a minority position, and unlikely to come to fruition in the event that NSAC opens the five-round door. That said, if the UFC utilizes the five round fight for all main and co-main events, that's potentially 20 additional minutes of high-level MMA. Who can argue with that?

The most prevalent argument I've heard against mandatory five-round fights atop of shows centered around the fear that more five-round fights would lead to fewer prelims fights being aired. While I've always found that a backward view (I would much rather see ten minutes of, say, Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida than a prelim fight between Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado), the point is moot given the UFC's recent practice of broadcasting their entire prelim lineup on Facebook (and now Youtube) and Spike TV.

Great points dude.

I was against this for a while. Reason being, I don't ever want to see 5 rounds of Jon Fitch ever. Also, I've been watching MMA since it was still called NHB/vale tudo back in 94 and a major problem was gas. By the 3rd round dudes would look horrible and I'm just like, ring the bell already. Get rid of this slop show!

But things have changed. The athletes are better conditioned. They pace themselves better. So now, when I see a fight like Fabio Maldonado vs Kyle Kingsbury where Fabio was wearing Kyle down, I'm left wanting more, knowing that with one or two more rounds Fabio would've been able to finish. Or Pettis and Guida. It seemed like Pettis didn't find his groove until the 3rd. With 2 more rounds, Pettis would've had a chance to build off that momentum.

More finishes and more clear cut decisions are a good thing for MMA. Especially with this new breed of fighter.

[David Rosado]

only heavyweights that can last this new change is prob gonna be cain

JDS has good cardio too.

The fighters will pace there selves more. Could make long, drug out, boring fights.

Ah good point. It could potentially make for slow paced fights. Or it could make for GSP vs Fitch. Or BJ vs Diego. Maybe not balls to the wall excitement, but an excellent show of technique and strategy. I'm thinking, if the UFC's gonna make it a main event fight, the guys are top tier. If they're top tier, their gas tanks will be there.

Agreed, but I don't necessarily think it will lead to exciting finishes. I think the problem is a ton of guys aren't 5 rounds fighters and they'll start gassing... BUT if you are in the main event you should be at the top of your game.

Exactly.

I like it. I would think the Jiu Jitsu practitioners will be more inclinded to work toward submission instead of feeling the pressure of scoring a knock-out - the Silva over Chael.

Another great point. It's gonna be a slight tip in the JJ guy's favor since they'll have a bit more time to work the submission and find a hole in their opponent's game.

I've gone from a non believer into a believer a couple months ago. I think it'll be good for the sport.

[Compella]

Overall it's a good idea, although I am wary of the first two rounds becoming "feel out" rounds for the fighters in an effort to pace themselves for the 5th. I hope a substantial pay increase will be there as well! Nearly twice as much cage time, nearly twice as much money?...

[K Madden]

Overall it's a good idea, although I am wary of the first two rounds becoming "feel out" rounds for the fighters in an effort to pace themselves for the 5th. I hope a substantial pay increase will be there as well! Nearly twice as much cage time, nearly twice as much money?...

pfffft hahahahaha....not a chance. i bet there will be a small increase, but for main events- they do small benefits like suites, more plane tix, fight tix.. highly doubt they change much on the line of pay.

[David Rosado]

Yeah, I'm assuming if they're main event fighters, they're already at, or near, the 6 figure mark. I know they deserve the pay bump, but I doubt they'll get it. Maybe they'll get a bonus for being in a main event 5 rounder? I think that'd be fair.