LFA 96 Uses New MMA Rule in Kansas

LFA 96 with the New MMA Rules

The interview was done by broadcaster Ron Kruck with the Executive Director of the Kansas Athletic Commission, Adam Roorbach. Adam explained the style was after each round the judges score would be shown to both corners coach. The first argument was that a fighter winning 20-18 going into the third was just stall. Now with the youth of the rule, only 8 fights made it to the last round 20-18. In seven of those, the fighter ahead won the last round as well. Moreover, Adam pointed out not to forget the warning rules as well. If a fighter stalls the last round and does not throw punches. They are risking a 10-8 third round which can result in a draw. This will no longer hold the fighters or fans from knowing the results as the fight goes on.  We would know if someone needs a knockout to win. Kansas is the only state that has attempted this new MMA rule. New MMA Rules

LFA 96 aired on December 4, 2020, in Wichita, Kansas. The main event was Maycon “Born Again” Mendonca versus “The Mongolian Falcon” Batsumberel Dagvadorj for the LFA vacant welterweight title. A great way to see how the new MMA rule worked in a 5 round title fight. This turned out to be a war and The Mongolian Falcon can take a punch. Maybe even a bat to the head.

The first round starts off with dominance by Mendonca. He is landed hard knees to the body and landed up top with the hands. This goes on for just about 2 minutes when Dagvadorj drops Mendonca. Immediately pressures with hard ground and pound. Later the fight gets back to the feet where Mendonca lands another solid knee to finish the round. Now that was a close round with more landed strikes on one side, but a knockdown on the other. Results are shown with the new MMA rule as a split round. Two scored it for Mendonca one for Dagvadorj. Side note I scored it for Dagvadorj because of the knockdown. New MMA RulesNew MMA Rules

We move to the second round with fire from both sides. Dagvadorj lands a takedown continues the ground and pound. Crazily Mendonca gets the fight back up and knocks out the Mongolian’s tooth. This was another close round with the takedown and decent ground control. The round ends and the results show the first judge giving the round again to Mendonca 20-18. However, the other two judges switch and have the fight tied 19-19.  This fight was a great example of what this rule is for.  After two rounds the coaches, commentators, and fans do not have to wonder who is ahead.

The last three rounds were easy to score for Mendonca. Each round was very entertaining but hard to argue Batsunberel won any. Strongly recommend watching it for yourself. Cannot go on without typing that Batsumberel is a complete warrior and Pat Miletich says this was the best fight he has commentated.  Both men wanted the vacant belt and were using true fighter essence for 25 minutes. The best part of the title fight was not having to question the result. All three judges scored the fight for Mendonca resulting in a unanimous decision.  My scorecard had the first two rounds for Batsumberel. However, my score still ended with a 48-47 Mendonca win. Just shows how everyone scores a fight differently. New MMA Rules

The end result of watching this new rule in action was a success. At no time did either fighter look to stall or not attempt to finish. Hopefully, other MMA organizations will push this way of scoring in other states and countries. This allows fans and fighters to focus on who was really winning as the fight progressed. Rather than wondering who really was in the lead. I also think about other close or bad decisions I have watched.  Would this have changed the outcome? Maybe Johny Hendricks would have given more than 70% if his corner told him it was tied going into the fifth against George St-Pierre. Kansas for sure has made me a supporter of their scoring style for the future of MMA.

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