UFC
UFC on FX 2's Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson says bout with Ian McCall has a "sudden death" round stipulation
Feb 22, 2012 - 10:30:34 PM UFC on FX 2's Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson says bout with Ian McCall has a "sudden death" round stipulation

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Draws in mixed martial arts may be a thing of the past with a revelation from Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson during a recent interview with TapouT Radio.

According to the one-time Bantamweight Title challenger, his bout agreement for his UFC on FX 2 bout with Ian McCall has one huge stipulation, and it's something that's never been done in an official UFC bout in the Zuffa era before.

"I don’t know if anybody has said anything about it, and this is the first time I’m mentioning it, is that [McCall and I] had to sign for a 'sudden death' bout," Johnson said (transcribed via CrooklynsCorner.com). "If it goes to three rounds, and the judges can't decide who the winner is, then we'll do a fourth round."

That's right; the UFC is implementing a "sudden death" round should this fight end in a draw. It's something that has been utilized in exhibition bouts on The Ultimate Fighter, but never before has it been implemented under the current rules set forth with the UFC.

Now, Johnson wasn't sure whether the stipulation extends beyond his fight or not, and it could simply be an experiment considering the fight takes place on a card in Australia. However, with some high profile fights ending in draws in 2011, it's certainly reasonable to believe the UFC would be looking to make this change widespread.

"I'm assuming that it's for me and Ian McCall. I can't say if it's going to be for Joseph [Benavidez] and Yasuhiro [Urushitani], because I'm not gonna say that the UFC made those guys sign, too. I'm telling you, specifically, that I signed a contract for an extra round on the bout agreement. I'm not gonna say that they did. I'm assuming, in my unprofessional opinion, that they did as well."

Penick's Analysis: It's easy to lose sight of the fact that this is still an extremely young sport, with the potential for a lot of evolution to change the way things are done. With all main event fights moving to five rounds going forward, that's already a big change. If this "sudden death" round gets implemented on a wide scale, it will bring an end to draws, and may actually allow for judges to finally start utilizing 10-10 and 10-8 rounds more frequently as they're called for. With no fear of a draw (outside of a final round going to a 10-10), it could easily bring about a change in judging during the first three rounds. I hope this is something that's going to be put in place for every event, as it could be a really positive change for the UFC to implement.