Five Round Main Events For UFC

Five-round non-title fights in main events will be the standard going forward in the UFC.

UFC president Dana White made the official announcement on Thursday that any fight signed from this day forward as a main event would be a five-round fight, regardless of whether or not it’s for a title.

Any fight currently signed for a main event that’s not a title fight, such as Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, who square off at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, will remain a three-round bout.

“What I don’t want to do to guys, fights that we’ve already made and they signed the bout agreement, you’re mentally training for a three-round fight. ‘Oh, now it’s five rounds’; you can’t do that to guys,” White stated.

He was specific in stating all future bout agreements for main event non-title fights would be five-round affairs.

“From this day forward, as we speak right here, right now today, every fight that is a main event that is not a title fight will be a five-round fight,” said White. “For Spike and everything else.”

This will be the first time in the modern history of the sport that MMA has had five-round fights that are not championship bouts.

White has long talked about making the move, and said they almost made the jump at UFC 131, but bout agreements had already been signed and the fighters were already in training camps to prepare for a three-round fight.

“We’re very close to doing it,” White revealed when speaking about five round non-title fights following UFC 129.

Now it is a reality.

White also specified that this policy is in effect for any show that the UFC produces whether it’s a pay-per-view or a UFC Fight Night event, main event fights will be five-round non-title bouts.

Let the cardio and conditioning workouts begin.

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