Majority decision
{{Short description|Winning criterion in combat sports}}
{{Distinguish|text = a majority opinion, a legal concept}}
A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which fighter won the match, while the third judge indicates that neither fighter won (i.e., a "draw").{{cite web|url=http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Decision|title=Decision - BoxRec}}
In boxing, each of the three judges allocates a score (round by round) for each fighter. If all scheduled rounds are completed (i.e., no knockout (technical included)), each judge totals the points for all rounds. If the same fighter scores more points than the other on two of the judges' scorecards, but the third judge scored equally for both fighters (a draw), the official victory is awarded to the agreed-upon (by a 2 to 1 'majority') fighter. If all judges rule for the same boxer, the decision is referred to as a unanimous decision.
The majority decision is frequently confused with the term split decision, but they are not the same. A split decision occurs when two judges pick the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge decides that the opposite fighter won. On very rare occasions, two judges vote for a draw while the third chooses a winner—this is a majority draw.
Notable examples
| class="wikitable"
!Date !Fight ! colspan="3" |Scorecards !Source |
| November 6, 1993
|Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II |115–113 Holyfield |115–114 Holyfield |114–114 |
| April 22, 1994
|Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer |116–112 Moorer |115–114 Moorer |114–114 |
| May 10, 1996
|96–94 Lewis |96–95 Lewis |95–95 |
| November 8, 2003
|Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. |117–111 Jones |116–112 Jones |114–114 |
| December 20, 2008
|Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield |116–112 Valuev |115–114 Valuev |114–114 |
| November 12, 2011
|Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III |116–112 Pacquiao |115–113 Pacquiao |114–114 |
| September 14, 2013
|Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez |117–111 Mayweather |116–112 Mayweather |114–114 |
| May 3, 2014
|Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana I |117–111 Mayweather |116–112 Mayweather |114–114 |
| June 21, 2014
|Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. |116–112 Lomachenko |116–112 Lomachenko |114–114 |
| August 16, 2014
|117–111 Brook |116–112 Brook |114–114 |
| August 20, 2016
|48–47 McGregor |48–47 McGregor |47–47 |
| December 10, 2016
|Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. |115–113 Parker |115–113 Parker |114–114 |
| September 16, 2018
|Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II |115–113 Álvarez |115–113 Álvarez |114–114 |
| January 27, 2018
|Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis |115–113 Usyk |115–113 Usyk |114–114 |
| March 18, 2023
|48–46 Edwards |48-46 Edwards |47-47 |
| April 20, 2024
|115–109 Garcia |114–110 Garcia |112–112 |
| October 12, 2024
|Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol |116–112 Beterbiev |115–113 Beterbiev |114–114 |
| February 22, 2025
|Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol II |116–112 Bivol |115–113 Bivol |114–114 |
{{portal|Martial arts}}