In the Pride Fighting Championships, the safety of the fighters and the integrity of the sport is of the utmost importance. The rules of our organization exist to protect the fighters and are listed below to inform the fans and the public.
Match length
Most PRIDE FC matches are broken down as follows:
Round 1: 10 minutes
Round 2: 5 minutes
Round 3: 5 minutes
There is a two-minute break between rounds.
Victory
Matches are won via Ippon and technical knockout.
Ippon
A fighter taps either his opponent or the mat three times
Technical Knockout
- Referee Stoppage—If the referee sees that one fighter is completely dominant to the point of endangering his opponent, the referee will stop the match.
- Doctor Stoppage—In the event that a fighter is injured (via fair methods) and cannot continue the match, his opponent will be declared the winner. The ring doctor will be the one to determine whether the fighter can continue or not. In the event that an injury was caused by illegal methods, the perpetrator will be disqualified.
- Forfeited Match—A fighter’s corner throws in the towel.
Decision
If the match goes the distance, then the outcome of the bout is determined by the three judges. A decision is made according to the following:
- The effort made to finish the fight via KO or submission.
- Damage gave to the opponent.
- Standing combinations & ground control.
- Aggressiveness and weight (in the case that the weight difference is 10kg/22lbs or more).
The above criteria are listed according to priority. The fight is scored in its entirety and not round by round. After the third round, each judge must decide a winner. Matches cannot end in a draw.
Disqualification
A ‘warning’ will be given in the form of a yellow card when a fighter commits an illegal action or does not follow the referee’s instruction. Three warnings will result in disqualification.
No Contest
In the event that both sides commit a violation of the rules, the bout will be declared a ‘No Contest.’
Grounds for disqualification
The following acts are regarded as ‘illegal actions.’ When a fighter commits any of these illegal actions, he will be given a warning from the referee (in the form of a yellow card). Warnings will be considered as negative points in the event that the match goes to a decision. Three warnings will result in disqualification.
- No head butting, eye-gouging, hair pulling, biting or fish hooking.
- No attacking the groin.
- No strikes (kicks, elbows, punching) to the back of the head (which includes the occipital region and the spine). The sides of the head and the area around the ears are not considered to be the back of the head.
- No small joint manipulation (control of four or more fingers/toes is necessary).
- No elbow strikes to the head and face.
- No intentionally throwing your opponent out of the ring.
- No running out of the ring.
- No purposely holding the ropes. Fighters cannot purposely hang an arm or leg on the ropes. Hanging on the ropes will result in an immediate warning.
- No kicks or knees to the head or the face of an opponent who falls face down.
- No application of oil, ointment, spray, Vaseline, massaging cream, hair cream, or any other substances is permitted to any part of the fighter’s body before and during the fights. The discovery of any of these substances will result in disqualification.
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