Split Draw

Last updated: July 8, 2026

What is a split draw?

A split draw is one of the ways an MMA fight can end without a winner. Three judges score every bout that goes the distance, and each one turns in an independent scorecard. In a split draw, those three cards disagree completely: one judge has fighter A winning, another has fighter B winning, and the third has the fight even. No fighter gets a majority of the cards, so the result is announced as a draw.

The Unified Rules of MMA, the ruleset used by the UFC and most major promotions, describe a split draw as a bout where all three judges score the contest differently and the outcome is a draw. Fans usually hear the term from the announcer after a close fight, right before the crowd realizes neither fighter is getting their hand raised. It is a rare result, and because it tends to happen in tight, high-stakes fights, it is often a controversial one.

How a split draw happens

MMA judging runs on the 10-point must system. The winner of each round gets 10 points, and the loser usually gets 9, with 10-8 scores reserved for rounds of clear dominance. At the end of the fight, each judge adds up their round scores to produce a total, and those three totals decide the result.

A split draw needs a specific combination: one card for each fighter, plus one even card. The UFC 282 main event between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev in December 2022 shows exactly how it looks. According to ESPN, judge Mike Bell scored the fight 48-47 for Blachowicz, judge Derek Cleary had it 48-46 for Ankalaev, and judge Sal D’Amato turned in a 47-47 card. Three different verdicts, no majority, split draw.

Judge	Score	Verdict
Mike Bell	48-47	Blachowicz
Derek Cleary	48-46	Ankalaev
Sal D’Amato	47-47	Even

Even cards usually come from a 10-8 round or a point deduction that cancels out an otherwise winning scorecard. In the Blachowicz fight, two judges gave Ankalaev a 10-8 fifth round, which is what pulled D’Amato’s card level.

Split draw vs. majority draw vs. unanimous draw

Not every draw is a split draw. The sport recognizes three types, and the difference comes down to how many judges scored the fight even.

Draw type	Judge 1	Judge 2	Judge 3
Split draw	Fighter A	Fighter B	Even
Majority draw	Fighter A	Even	Even
Unanimous draw	Even	Even	Even

A majority draw means two judges scored it even, and one picked a winner. A unanimous draw means all three cards came back level, which almost never happens because judges are encouraged to pick a round winner whenever they can. Draws of any kind are scarce. GroundedMMA counted 46 of them in the UFC between 2001, when the promotion adopted the Unified Rules, and 2022, spread across thousands of fights, and split draws are only a fraction of that total.

Split draw vs. split decision

These two terms sound similar and get mixed up constantly, but they produce opposite outcomes. A split decision has a winner: two judges score the fight for one fighter, and the third scores it for the opponent, so the fighter with two cards wins 2-1. A split draw has no winner, because the third card is even instead of favoring either fighter.

A quick way to keep them straight: “decision” means somebody won, “draw” means nobody did. Georges St-Pierre beating Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 was a split decision, with two cards for St-Pierre and one for Hendricks. Blachowicz and Ankalaev leaving the cage without a belt was a split draw.

What a split draw means for fighters

On a fighter’s record, a split draw shows up as a draw, the D in the win-loss-draw format. It does not count as a loss for either fighter, but it does not count as a win either, and in the UFC, that typically means neither fighter collects the win bonus written into many UFC contracts.

In title fights, the consequences get bigger. A challenger must beat the champion to take the belt, so a draw means the champion retains. That is what happened at Noche UFC in September 2023, when Alexa Grasso defended her women’s flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. Per the official scorecards, Junichiro Kamijo had it 48-47 for Grasso, Sal D’Amato scored it 48-47 for Shevchenko, and Mike Bell’s 47-47 card sealed the split draw. Grasso kept the belt, and Shevchenko publicly criticized Bell’s 10-8 score in the final round.

Split draws also tend to set up rematches. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a split draw at UFC 125 in January 2011, with cards of 48-46 Edgar, 48-46 Maynard, and 47-47, and ran it back later that year, where Edgar won by knockout in the fourth round.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wins a split draw?

Nobody. Both fighters walk away without a win or a loss, and in a championship fight, the reigning champion keeps the title because the challenger failed to beat them.

Does a split draw count as a loss?

No. A split draw is recorded as a draw on both fighters’ professional records, alongside their wins and losses.

How rare are split draws in the UFC?

Rare. GroundedMMA’s count found 46 total draws of all types in the UFC from 2001 to 2022. Notable split draws include B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno at UFC 41, Edgar vs. Maynard at UFC 125, Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev at UFC 282, and Grasso vs. Shevchenko at Noche UFC.

Can a split draw happen in a three-round fight?

Yes. Ion Cutelaba and Dustin Jacoby fought to a three-round split draw at UFC Vegas 25 in 2021, with cards of 29-28 Cutelaba, 29-28 Jacoby, and 28-28.

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Sources

1. Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports. “Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://www.abcboxing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unified-mma-rules-rev-july-2024.pdf
2. ESPN. “Jan Blachowicz, Magomed Ankalaev fight to split draw at UFC 282.” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/35229905/jan-blachowicz-magomed-ankalaev-fight-split-draw-ufc-282
3. UFC.com. “Official Scorecards: Noche UFC.” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://www.ufc.com/news/official-judges-scorecards-noche-ufc-grasso-vs-shevchenko-2
4. FanSided MMA. “What is the difference between a split draw and a majority draw?” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://fansidedmma.com/posts/difference-between-split-draw-majority-draw-01hjn5kzh8gh
5. GroundedMMA. “UFC Majority Draw: What is it? (Split Draw, Unanimous Draw).” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://groundedmma.com/ufc-majority-draw/
6. Sportskeeda. “What does a split draw mean in the UFC?” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-what-split-draw-mean-ufc
7. Wikipedia. “Split draw.” Accessed July 9, 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_draw

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