How many rounds are there in UFC fights? How long is each round?
Your average UFC fight is a brutal affair, but how long are they and are there any differences between formats? Let’s get to know the rules.
When the Ultimate Fighting Championship emerged in 1993 as a professional mixed martial arts organization, few could have expected the way in which it would revolutionize the fight business worldwide. Indeed, what we now commonly know as UFC has been a true game changer. Today the promotion features the large majority of the world’s best fighters from a variety of MMA disciplines, including karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, and other combat sports.
So, how long does a UFC fight last?
Before we get to that, it’s worth noting that UFC fights are sanctioned under rules established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board (NJACB) under the name “Unified Mixed Martial Arts Rules”, however, there are other states such as Nevada, Louisiana, and California who have decided to adopt them as opposed to coming up with their own.
Now, on average a typical UFC bout lasts about seventeen minutes but that’s if we’re talking about a regular bout as opposed to a championship bout which has more rounds and so, lasts longer. Where rounds are concerned, non-championship bouts consist of three rounds, while the main event is five. Each round - in either format - is set at five minutes with a one-minute break between them. To that end, a championship fight normally sits at around 29 minutes.
Another important aspect of the UFC’s rules is the fact that no contestant is permitted to exceed competing more than five (5) rounds and/or twenty-five (25) minutes of fighting within a twenty-four (24) hour period. To be fair, that makes perfect sense when considering the beating that fighters subject themselves to. Of course, if you’d like, you can see the official rules of the UFC here. Do remember that UFC 299 is set for Saturday, March 9th with a headline bout between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera.