Vol. 2026 No. 2 (2026)
Articles

Winning techniques and time characteristics in UFC lower weight class MMA

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  • Roy Anne ,
  • Murphy Antoine
Roy Anne
Imperial College London, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, United Kingdom
Murphy Antoine
Imperial College London, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, United Kingdom

Published 01-03-2026

Keywords

  • mixed martial arts (MMA),
  • UFC,
  • technical characteristics

Copyright (c) 2026 Cambridge Sport Science

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
R. Anne and M. Antoine, “Winning techniques and time characteristics in UFC lower weight class MMA”, Camb. Sport Sci., vol. 2026, no. 2, pp. 24–31, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.62852/css/2026/243.

Abstract

By using methods of literature review and video analysis, this study conducted a statistical analysis of 91 small-weight-class mixed martial arts (MMA) matches from UFC Fight Night 2014–2015 and UFC 168–194 in 2015, examining factors including victory methods, temporal characteristics, and technical features. The results indicate that: (1) decision victories were the primary winning method for small-weight-class MMA athletes, followed by KO and submission; (2) the first round was the critical round of the match; (3) stand-up confrontation time dominated total fight time, with ground time secondary; (4) straight punches, hooks, and leg kicks were the main striking techniques; (5) double-leg takedowns had the highest success rate among takedown techniques; and (6) ground-and-pound, rear-naked chokes, and upper-limb joint locks were the primary techniques for KO and submission victories.

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