Last updated: July 2, 2026
Quick Definition
A draw in MMA is a fight result where the judges’ scorecards produce no winner. Neither fighter wins or loses, and the result is recorded as a draw on both fighters’ records.
What is a draw in MMA?
A draw happens when a fight reaches the judges and their combined scorecards leave no winner. The referee raises neither hand. Both fighters walk away without a win or a loss, and the result lands in the third column of the standard win-loss-draw record. Frankie Edgar’s record reads 24-11-1, and that final “1” is his draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125 in 2011.
Draws come from the scorecards, with one exception covered below. A finish, whether by knockout or submission, always produces a winner, so a fight normally has to go the distance before a draw is possible.
The sport is built to avoid them. Judges are encouraged to pick a round winner even in close rounds, and fights use an odd number of rounds, so straight scoring almost always produces a winner. SQAF’s complete record counted 51 UFC draws under the modern scoring system as of March 2023, starting with B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno at UFC 41 in February 2003.
How a fight ends in a draw
Judges score MMA fights on the 10-point must system: the round winner gets 10 points, the loser gets 9 or fewer. With an odd number of rounds, a card made up entirely of 10-9 rounds cannot end level. Two things break that math.
The first is the 10-8 round, awarded when one fighter dominates. Picture a three-round fight where fighter A wins the first round 10-8, then fighter B takes the last two rounds 10-9. That card reads 28-28. Even.
The second is the point deduction. When a referee penalizes a foul, the lost point can cancel out a round win. At UFC 284 in February 2023, referee Marc Goddard deducted a point from Alonzo Menifield for grabbing the fence against Jimmy Crute. FanSided MMA noted that without the deduction, Menifield probably wins a decision; with it, the fight became a majority draw.
Types of draws in MMA
Three judges score every fight, so a drawn result can form in several ways. There are four recognized types.
| Type | What the scorecards show | Example |
| Unanimous draw | All three judges score the fight even | Rarest form; judges are pushed to pick winners |
| Majority draw | Two judges score it even, one picks a winner | Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson, UFC 205 (2016); Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno, UFC 256 (2020) |
| Split draw | One judge scores it for each fighter, the third scores it even | Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2, Noche UFC (2023) |
| Technical draw | An accidental foul stops the fight early, and the partial scorecards are even | Rare; governed by the Unified Rules |
The technical draw needs a little more explanation. Under the Unified Rules of MMA, if an accidental foul (an eye poke or a clash of heads, for example) stops the fight after enough rounds have been completed (two in a three-round fight, three in a five-round fight), the judges score the completed portion. Level totals produce a technical draw. Before that threshold, the same stoppage is ruled a no contest.
One common mix-up is the majority draw versus the majority decision. A majority decision has a winner: two judges pick the same fighter, while the third scores it even. A majority draw has no winner, because two of the three cards are even.
Draw vs. no contest
Both results leave the cage without a winner, and fans confuse them constantly. The difference is whether the fight counts.
A draw is a completed fight. The judges scored every round (or every completed round, in the technical draw case) and found the fighters level. It goes on both records as a D.
A no contest is a nullified fight. Circumstances beyond the fighters’ control, such as an accidental illegal strike or outside interference, make a fair result impossible. The record simply shows NC. A result can also be overturned to a no contest long after the fact, which is what happens when a winner fails a drug test.
At UFC 321, an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane ended his fight with Tom Aspinall in the first round; the bout was declared a no contest, and Aspinall kept his heavyweight title.
| Draw | No contest | |
| Fight completed? | Yes (or enough rounds for a technical draw) | No, or result later overturned |
| Scored by judges? | Yes, cards are even | Not applicable |
| On the record? | Counted as a D | Counted as NC, neither win nor loss |
| Typical cause | 10-8 rounds and point deductions producing even cards | Accidental fouls; results overturned after failed drug tests |
What a draw means for titles and records
In a title fight, a draw favors the champion. The challenger has to beat the champion to take the belt, so a drawn result leaves the title where it started. Grasso kept her flyweight belt after the split draw with Shevchenko at Noche UFC in September 2023, and Figueiredo retained his flyweight title after the majority draw with Moreno at UFC 256. A vacant belt stays vacant: neither Jan Blachowicz nor Magomed Ankalaev claimed the light heavyweight title after their split draw at UFC 282.
Per SQAF, six UFC title fights have ended in a draw. The usual response is a rematch, though that is custom rather than a written rule. Edgar and Maynard ran it back immediately after UFC 125, and the drawn first meeting between Figueiredo and Moreno kicked off a four-fight series.
Outside of title fights, a draw mostly stalls momentum. It breaks a win streak without being a loss, and a rematch is common when the division allows it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common are draws in MMA?
Rare. SQAF counted 51 draws in UFC history as of March 2023, across thousands of fights.
Does a draw count as a loss?
No. A draw sits in its own column of a fighter’s record, separate from wins and losses.
Who keeps the belt if a title fight ends in a draw?
The champion retains the title, since the challenger did not win. If the belt was vacant going into the fight, it stays vacant.
What is the difference between a majority draw and a majority decision?
A majority decision has a winner (two judges agree on the same fighter). A majority draw has no winner (two judges score the fight even).
What happens to bets when a fight is a draw?
It depends on the sportsbook. MMA Predictions notes that moneyline bets on either fighter are usually settled as losses when the cards produce a draw, though some books void and refund instead.
Sources
- Wikipedia. “Majority draw.” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_draw - Wikipedia. “No contest (sports).” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_contest_(sports) - SQAF. “Full List of UFC Draws [Complete Record].” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://sqaf.club/ufc-draws-full-list/ - FanSided MMA. “What is the difference between a split draw and a majority draw?” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://fansidedmma.com/posts/difference-between-split-draw-majority-draw-01hjn5kzh8gh - FanSided MMA. “What happens if an MMA fight is a draw?” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://fansidedmma.com/posts/what-happens-mma-fight-draw-01gtdpyvw4v6 - The SportsRush. “UFC Rules: No Contest, Split Draw, and DQ Explained.” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://thesportsrush.com/ufc-news-ufc-rules-no-contest-split-draw-and-dq-explained/ - MMA Predictions. “What Happens to UFC Bets if the Fight Is ‘No Contest’ or a ‘Technical Draw’?” Accessed July 3, 2026.
https://mmapredictions.com/ufc-bets-no-contest-technical-draw/
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