Are three rounds enough to decide a title? Cassia Moura’s win reopens the debate in UFC BJJ
The split decision in the UFC BJJ 12 main event was questioned by part of the public; in the organization, a title match has the same 15 minutes as any other match
Cassia Moura’s split decision win over Adele Fornarino gave the Brazilian her second UFC BJJ title. It also started a discussion that goes beyond Thursday’s match: are three rounds enough to decide a title?
In UFC BJJ, every match has three five-minute rounds, including title matches. When nobody gets a submission, the judges score round by round on the 10-point system. They look first at submission attempts, then at who starts the action, and last at control time. In the UFC’s own MMA events, title fights have five rounds.
One round each, and five minutes to decide
The official UFC recap helps explain why the judges were split. In the first round, Fornarino went to the mat, attacked the leg and ended the round with a heel hook locked in, and Moura only got out when the horn sounded. In the second, the Brazilian scored a takedown and took the back at the end. In the third, Moura put on pressure from the top, she got her second stalling warning of the match, and Fornarino came close with a leg lock in the last second.
With one clear round for each athlete, the belt was decided in the final five minutes. Two judges scored the match for Moura and one for Fornarino.
How the public reacted
On the official post with the result, most of the comments disagreed with the decision. “Sub attempt in round 1 was the only major threat in that match,” one follower wrote. Another answered with the logic of the scoring: “Do people not realize it’s round by round scoring? Adele R1 clearly, Cassia R2 clearly,” and gave the third round to the Brazilian.
In the chat of the press conference stream, one viewer went straight to the format: “They have to go to 5 rounds for title matches.” Among the athletes, light heavyweight champion Mason Fowler chose to praise both: “Respect to both women, was a great match.”
Not the first time
Moura’s first title, at bantamweight, also came by split decision, against Ffion Davies in March. And in September, at UFC BJJ 11, the light heavyweight title match between Mason Fowler and Nick Rodriguez ended in a draw, also with the judges split, in a match where the challenger got stronger in the second half. Of the last three title matches in the organization, only Renato Canuto’s had a unanimous decision.
The case for three rounds
The short format fits what the organization says it wants. Claudia Gadelha, the executive who runs UFC BJJ, said in March that the event wants action, and a lot of it. On the same night as the split decision, five of the eight matches ended by submission before the end of the first round.
Moura herself treated three rounds as the limit, not the plan. “You can expect a high-level match, a lot of intensity and two athletes going for the win the whole time. I will go in ready for three rounds if needed, but I want to impose my game from the first second, look for the submission and leave with both belts. That is the goal,” she told VF Comunica before the match. So far, UFC BJJ has not announced any change to the format.
Should UFC BJJ title matches have five rounds? Leave your opinion in the comments.
