In the world of mixed martial arts, no contest is a term that signifies the end of a fight that was unable to be completed due to an injury or other unforeseen circumstance. The result of a no contest is one of the three outcomes of a bout: a win for both participants, a loss for both participants, or no outcome at all.

A fight declared a no contest is not counted as part of either fighter’s official record. If an injury prevents one fighter from continuing, it may be ruled a technical knockout or technical submission by the referee and judge. If the injury occurs during an illegal strike or submission attempt that results in serious physical harm to an opponent, then it would likely be ruled as disqualification by the referee.

The term “no contest” has also been used by judges in some cases where they feel that neither fighter should be awarded victory because there was no real winner in their minds. This has led to some confusion among MMA fans as well as media members who do not understand how judges can declare a winner in certain fights where seemingly both fighters did enough damage to win based on traditional boxing scoring criteria.

Last modified: September 5, 2022