Majority decision

Winning criterion in combat sports

Not to be confused with a majority opinion, a legal concept.

A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which fighter won the match, while the third judge indicates that neither fighter won (i.e., a "draw").[1]

In boxing, each of the three judges allocates a score (round by round) for each fighter. If all scheduled rounds are completed (i.e., no knockout (technical included)), each judge totals the points for all rounds. If the same fighter scores more points than the other on two of the judges' scorecards, but the third judge scored equally for both fighters (a draw), the official victory is awarded to the agreed-upon (by a 2 to 1 'majority') fighter. If all judges rule for the same boxer, the decision is referred to as a unanimous decision.

The majority decision is frequently confused with the term split decision, but they are not the same. A split decision occurs when two judges pick the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge decides that the opposite fighter won. On very rare occasions, two judges vote for a draw while the third chooses a winner—this is a majority draw.

## Notable examples

[edit]

Date  | Fight  | Scorecards  | Source

|
|
|

November 6, 1993  | Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II | 115–113 Holyfield  | 115–114 Holyfield  | 114–114  | [2]
April 22, 1994  | Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer | 116–112 Moorer  | 115–114 Moorer  | 114–114  | [3]
May 10, 1996  | Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer | 96–94 Lewis  | 96–95 Lewis  | 95–95  | [4]
November 8, 2003  | Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. | 117–111 Jones  | 116–112 Jones  | 114–114  | [5]
December 20, 2008  | Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield | 116–112 Valuev  | 115–114 Valuev  | 114–114  | [6]
November 12, 2011  | Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III | 116–112 Pacquiao  | 115–113 Pacquiao  | 114–114  | [7]
September 14, 2013  | Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez | 117–111 Mayweather  | 116–112 Mayweather  | 114–114  | [8]
May 3, 2014  | Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana I | 117–111 Mayweather  | 116–112 Mayweather  | 114–114  | [9]
June 21, 2014  | Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. | 116–112 Lomachenko  | 116–112 Lomachenko  | 114–114  | [10]
August 16, 2014  | Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook | 117–111 Brook  | 116–112 Brook  | 114–114  | [11]
August 20, 2016  | Nate Diaz vs. McGregor II | 48–47 McGregor  | 48–47 McGregor  | 47–47  | [12]
December 10, 2016  | Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. | 115–113 Parker  | 115–113 Parker  | 114–114  | [13]
September 16, 2018  | Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II | 115–113 Álvarez  | 115–113 Álvarez  | 114–114  | [14]
January 27, 2018  | Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis | 115–113 Usyk  | 115–113 Usyk  | 114–114  | [15]
March 18, 2023  | Edwards vs. Usman III | 48–46 Edwards  | 48-46 Edwards  | 47-47  | [16]
April 20, 2024  | Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia | 115–109 Garcia  | 114–110 Garcia  | 112–112  | [17]
October 12, 2024  | Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol | 116–112 Beterbiev  | 115–113 Beterbiev  | 114–114  | [18]
February 22, 2025  | Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol II  | 116–112 Bivol  | 115–113 Bivol  | 114–114  | [19]

* Martial arts portal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Decision - BoxRec".
2. ^ "Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield (2nd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
3. ^ "Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer (1st meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
4. ^ "Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
5. ^ "Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. (1st meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
6. ^ "Nikolay Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
7. ^ "Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (3rd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
8. ^ "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul Alvarez - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
9. ^ "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
10. ^ "Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
11. ^ "Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
12. ^ Thomas, Luke (21 August 2016). "UFC 202 results: Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz via majority decision". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
13. ^ "Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz Jr - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
14. ^ "Gennady Golovkin vs. Saul Alvarez (2nd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
15. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
16. ^ "UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 Results, Fight Card and News - MMA Fighting". www.mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
17. ^ "Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
18. ^ "Beterbiev vs. Bivol". BoxRec.
19. ^ "Beterbiev vs Bivol 2: Dmitry Bivol majority decision points win over Artur Beterbiev". BBC Sport. 2025-02-23. Retrieved 2025-02-23.

* v
* t
* e

Decisions in combat sports

Knockouts|

* Knockout
* Technical knockout
* Corner retirement

Judges' scorecards|

* Majority decision
* Majority draw
* Split decision
* Split draw
* Technical decision
* Technical draw
* Unanimous decision
* Unanimous draw

Other|

* Disqualification
* Newspaper decision
* No contest
* Points decision
* Submission

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template