The much-criticized California State Athletic Commission may begin to score amateur bouts on a half-point scoring system (as opposed to the current 10-point must system) in an attempt to distinguish between rounds that have been eked-out and rounds that have been solidly won. The idea is that a very close round with one fighter having a slight edge, perhaps on damage, take-downs, or submission attempts, would be scored 10-9.5. A round with one clear but not dominant winner would still be 10-9. A round dominated by one fighter but not close to being finished would be 10-8.5 and a very dominant round that included a near submission or a knockdown would remain 10-8. A recent example could be Jackson-Machida. The first round was very close but two of three judges scored it for Jackson. In this system it would likely have been a 10-9.5 round. The second round was also very close with two judges scoring it for Jackson, so again it would be 10-9.5. The final round was decisively for Machida, 10-9. The final score of the fight would be Jackson 29-Machida 29 for a draw, which I think would've been an appropriate score. I personally feel we should see more draws than we do.
