MMA Glossary: 101 Terms Every New Fan Should Know

Image: Mark Richardson, CC BY 2.0

This glossary groups the language of mixed martial arts by topic, so you can find a term in context instead of scrolling an alphabet. Where a definition touches the rulebook it follows the Unified Rules published by the Association of Boxing Commissions. Start with the room itself.

• Octagon: The UFC's name for its eight-sided fighting cage. It is commonly listed at 30 feet across with a 6 foot fence, and a 25 foot version is used in smaller venues, according to Wikipedia. Other promotions usually just say "the cage".
• Cageside: The area right next to the cage where judges, officials and the physician sit, and where the cameras and corners work.
• Fight card: The full list of bouts at one event.
• Main card: The featured part of the night, with the biggest names. The fights before it are the preliminary card, or prelims.
• Main event: The headline bout, normally the last fight of the night. Title fights and main events are the usual five-round bouts.
• Co-main event: The second most important fight on the card, placed just before the main event.
• Referee: The official inside the cage. Under the Unified Rules the referee is the sole arbiter of the bout and the only person authorised to stop it.
• Judges: The officials who score the fight. At least three score every bout, and they do not call fouls; only the referee can.
• Corner: A fighter's team between rounds: the head coach, other coaches and the cutman. Also called the seconds. Corners may not interfere with the referee.
• Cutman: The corner specialist who treats cuts and swelling between rounds. Under the ABC rules an approved cutman may apply petroleum jelly and approved medicines such as adrenaline 1/1000 solution.
• Mouthpiece: The mandatory mouth guard. A round cannot start without one, and deliberately spitting it out can cost a point.
• Walkout: A fighter's entrance to the cage, usually with chosen music.

Standing exchanges borrow from boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai. These are the strikes commentators name most often.

• Jab: A straight punch with the lead hand, used to measure distance and set up bigger shots.
• Cross: A straight punch with the rear hand, usually thrown after the jab.
• Hook: A punch that travels in an arc, with the arm bent at roughly 90 degrees.
• Uppercut: A punch driven upward into the chin or body.
• Overhand: A looping rear-hand punch that comes over the top of the opponent's guard.
• Spinning backfist: A strike where the fighter spins and lands with the back of the fist.
• Superman punch: A punch thrown with an exaggerated leap forward, often disguised by a fake kick.
• Hammerfist: A strike with the bottom of a closed fist, common on the ground.
• Elbow: A short, cutting strike that opens cuts. Elbows are legal anywhere except the spine and back of the head, and downward-pointing "12 to 6" elbows were legalised by the ABC in 2024.
• Knee: A strike from the clinch or off a lunge. It is illegal to the head of a grounded opponent.
• Leg kick: A kick to the thigh or calf that wears down an opponent's movement and balance.
• Oblique kick: A kick driven into the side of the opponent's knee to push it away. It is legal today, but California State Athletic Commission chief Andy Foster has proposed banning it, according to MMA Sucka. No rule has changed yet.
• Head kick: A kick aimed at the head.
• Teep: A push kick with the ball of the foot, used to hold an opponent off at range.
• Axe kick: A kick where the leg goes straight up and the heel comes down on the target. The rules say it is not a stomp.
• Feint: A fake movement that makes the opponent react so a real strike can land.

Wrestling decides where a fight takes place. A fighter who cannot be taken down and cannot take the other down is fighting on their own terms.

• Takedown: Getting an opponent to the ground and ending up on top.
• Single leg: A takedown where a fighter grabs one of the opponent's legs.
• Double leg: A takedown where a fighter drives in and captures both legs.
• Sprawl: The standard defence to a takedown: throw the legs back and drive the hips down.
• Clinch: Close-range tie-up where fighters wrap arms around each other, fighting for position or a takedown.
• Dirty boxing: Punching, elbowing and kneeing from inside the clinch.
• Thai clinch: Also called the plum. Both hands control the back of the opponent's head so knees can be thrown.
• Body lock: A clinch where the arms are locked around the opponent's torso, often used to set up a trip or throw.
• Cage wrestling: Using the fence to hold an opponent up, or to stand up from the ground with their back against it.
• Cutting off the cage: Angling steps so an opponent cannot circle away and is backed onto the fence.
• Scramble: A fast, messy exchange where both fighters fight for the better position.
• Suplex: A throw where the fighter lifts the opponent and drives them backward over the hips. It is legal, but spiking an opponent onto the head or neck is a foul.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu shaped almost everything here. The big idea is that some positions are better than others, and fighters move through them toward a finish.

• Guard: A position where the fighter on their back uses their legs to control an opponent who is between them and kneeling or standing. The UFC glossary in the Philadelphia Inquirer lists open, closed, half, butterfly and rubber guard as variations.
• Closed guard: Guard with the legs locked around the opponent's waist.
• Half guard: Guard with only one of the opponent's legs trapped between yours.
• Butterfly guard: An open guard where the feet hook inside the opponent's thighs.
• Guard pass: Getting around the legs into a dominant position such as side control or mount.
• Sweep: A move that reverses the position from the bottom, so the fighter who was underneath ends up on top.
• Mount: A position with one fighter on top, sitting on the opponent's torso, free to punch, forearm or elbow downward.
• Side control: A position where the top fighter lies across the opponent's body, at right angles to them, and pins them down.
• North-south: A pin where the top fighter lies head to toe with the opponent, chest to chest.
• Back control: Also called the back mount. A fighter controls the opponent from behind, with the legs hooked in and an arm over a shoulder. It is widely considered the strongest position in grappling.
• Hooks: The feet, hooked around the opponent's thighs to hold back control.
• Turtle: A defensive position on hands and knees, hunched over.
• Ground and pound: Taking an opponent down and striking them from on top with punches and elbows.
• Lay and pray: Slang for a fighter who holds a top position and does little with it. The referee can stand fighters up when neither shows real effort to finish the fight, and the rules add that simply maintaining a superior position does not count as that effort.

A submission ends a fight when a fighter taps, says they give up, or passes out or suffers a broken bone or dislocation from a legal hold. The ABC rules call the last case a technical submission.

• Submission: A hold that forces an opponent to give up or face injury.
• Tap out: Tapping the mat or the opponent to give up. The rules also recognise a verbal tap out.
• Choke: A hold that cuts off blood or air to the brain. The UFC glossary lists the guillotine and triangle as types.
• Rear-naked choke: A choke from back control, with one arm around the neck.
• Guillotine: A front choke where the arm wraps around the opponent's neck from the front.
• Triangle: A choke where the legs wrap around the opponent's head and one arm.
• Arm-triangle: A choke that squeezes the neck between one of the opponent's arms and your shoulder.
• Armbar: A lock that hyperextends the elbow.
• Kimura: A shoulder lock that bends the arm awkwardly behind the back, risking shoulder or arm damage.
• Omoplata: A shoulder lock similar to the kimura but using the legs.
• Heel hook: A leg lock that twists the knee through the heel. It is one of the most dangerous leg locks.
• Kneebar: A leg lock that hyperextends the knee.

Results have precise meanings under the Unified Rules, which is why commentators are careful with the labels.

• KO: Knockout. The referee stops the fight because the fighter cannot intelligently defend themselves, due to strikes.
• TKO: Technical knockout. The referee stops the fight because a fighter is not intelligently defending themselves, for example from strikes or a cut, or the corner or doctor stops it.
• Doctor stoppage: A fight ended on the advice of the ringside physician, scored as a TKO by medical stoppage.
• Corner stoppage: A fight ended by a fighter's own corner, for example by throwing in the towel.
• Decision: A result decided by the judges' scorecards after the final bell.
• Unanimous decision: All three judges scored the fight for the same fighter.
• Split decision: Two judges scored for one fighter and one judge for the other.
• Majority decision: Two judges scored for the same fighter and the third scored a draw.
• Draw: A result where neither fighter wins. Types include unanimous, majority and split draws.
• No contest: A result declared when a bout is stopped early by an accidental injury before enough rounds are complete for the scorecards.
• Disqualification: A loss awarded after an injury from an intentional foul, multiple fouls or flagrant disregard for the referee.
• Technical decision: A result from the scorecards when a fight is stopped by an accidental foul late enough for a decision and one fighter is ahead.
• 10-point must system: The scoring method where the round winner gets 10 points and the loser gets 9 or fewer. A rare even round is scored 10-10.
• 10-8 round: A round won by a large margin on damage, dominance and duration.
• Effective striking and grappling: The first judging criterion: damage from legal strikes, and successful takedowns, submission attempts and advantageous positions.
• Fighting area control: A later criterion: who is dictating the pace, place and position of the fight. It only counts when the earlier criteria are even.

Divisions keep fighters of similar size together. The UFC rankings page lists eight men's divisions, flyweight to heavyweight, and three women's divisions: strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight.

• Weight class: A division with a weight limit. The upper limits of the UFC's men's divisions are flyweight 125 lb, bantamweight 135, featherweight 145, lightweight 155, welterweight 170, middleweight 185, light heavyweight 205 and heavyweight 265. Women's strawweight is 115 lb.
• Weigh-ins: The official weight check before the fight, usually the day before.
• Weight cut: The process of losing weight before the weigh-ins to fight at a lower class.
• Catchweight: A bout at an agreed weight between the official divisions.
• Champion: The holder of a division's title, who defends it in title fights.
• Interim champion: A temporary title holder named when the champion cannot defend the belt.
• Title eliminator: A fight between top contenders whose winner earns a title shot.
• Rankings: Lists of the top contenders in each division. UFC rankings come from a voting panel of media members, and champions cannot be voted into their own divisional list.
• Pound-for-pound: A ranking that compares fighters across divisions as if they were the same size. Champions are eligible for it.
• Gatekeeper: A seasoned fighter whose job is to test rising contenders before they reach the top.

The last group covers money and slang, the terms you hear on the broadcast and in the comments.

• Fight of the Night: A bonus for both fighters in the best bout on the card. The UFC's 2014 structure gave it to both fighters in the best fight, with separate Performance of the Night awards for individual standouts.
• Performance of the Night: A bonus for an individual performance that stood out, such as a spectacular finish. Agent MMA reported that both bonuses rose from $50,000 to $100,000 at UFC 324 in January 2026, with a $25,000 award for a TKO or submission finish that misses them. The report noted the details were not fully confirmed at that point.
• Finish: Winning by KO, TKO or submission rather than by decision.
• Call out: A fighter publicly naming the opponent they want next.
• Cardio: Short for cardiovascular fitness: the ability to keep up the pace in later rounds.
• Gassed: Exhausted and unable to keep the pace.
• Fight IQ: Tactical intelligence: how well a fighter reads the fight and adjusts.
• Glass jaw: Slang for a fighter who is easily knocked out.
• Banger: Slang for an exciting, high-action fight.

• Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports: Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts (August 2026 edition)
• UFC: Rankings and voting methodology
• UFC: Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts
• Wikipedia: Octagon (mixed martial arts)
• Breaking Muscle: What's that move called? A glossary of MMA terms
• Philadelphia Inquirer: A UFC glossary
• Hayabusa: MMA dictionary
• MMA Sucka: UFC releases new bonus structure (2014)
• Agent MMA: UFC doubles bonuses and adds $25K TKO and submission reward
• MMA Sucka: Shahbazyan confusion puts MMA rules under fresh scrutiny
• Calgary Combative Sports Commission: Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules (June 2018)

What does ground and pound mean in MMA?

Ground and pound means taking an opponent down and striking them from on top, using punches, hammerfists and elbows. It is legal, but knees and kicks to the head of a grounded fighter are fouls. Referees can stand fighters up if neither shows real effort to finish.

What is the difference between a KO and a TKO?

Under the Unified Rules, a KO is when the referee stops the fight because a fighter cannot intelligently defend themselves due to strikes. A TKO covers a fighter who is not intelligently defending, plus corner, doctor and cut stoppages. On broadcasts, both are often just called knockouts.

What is the difference between guard and mount?

Guard is a position where the fighter on their back uses their legs to control an opponent, so it is defensive but dangerous for submissions. Mount is the reverse: one fighter sits on top of the opponent's torso and can strike downward. Passing guard is how a fighter reaches mount.

What does Fight of the Night mean?

Fight of the Night is a UFC bonus awarded to both fighters in the best bout on the card. It is separate from Performance of the Night, which rewards individual standout performances. Reports say both bonuses were raised to $100,000 from UFC 324 in January 2026, though full details were not confirmed at the time.

How many weight classes does the UFC have?

The UFC rankings page lists eleven divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight for men, plus strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight for women. A catchweight fight takes place at an agreed weight between divisions, and the upper limits run from 125 pounds at flyweight to 265 at heavyweight.

What does pound-for-pound mean in MMA?

Pound-for-pound is a ranking that compares the best fighters across all weight classes as if they were the same size. On the UFC rankings page, champions and interim champions cannot be voted into their divisional lists but remain eligible for the pound-for-pound rankings, which are voted by a media panel.