cage, as opposed to UFC's octagonal cage (The Octagon). Ordinary matches consisted of three five-minute rounds, while championship matches were five five-minute rounds. All rounds had a one-minute break between them. Prior to the acquisition by Zuffa, Strikeforce did not allow elbows to the head of a grounded opponent. Prior to June 2009, all women's bouts in Strikeforce consisted of three three-minute rounds as opposed to the men's five-minute rounds. However, on June 16, 2009, Strikeforce announced that it had received approval from the Washington and California State Athletic Commissions to use five-minute rounds for all women's bouts, including five five-minute rounds for its championship bouts. Weight divisions Judging criteria The ten-point must system was in effect for all fights; three judges scored each round and the winner of each received ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. If the round was even, both fighters received ten points. In New Jersey, the fewest points a fighter could receive was 7, and in other states by custom no fighter received fewer than 8. Match conduct After a verbal warning the referee could stop the fighters and stand them up if they reached a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position or working towards one). This rule is codified in Nevada as the stand-up rule. If the referee paused the match, it was resumed with the fighters in their prior positions. Grabbing the cage brought a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt failed or if the fighter continued to hold the cage, the referee could charge a foul. Under unified rules, antics were permitted before events to add to excitement and allow fighters to express themselves, but abusive language during combat was prohibited. Strikeforce events As of Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, which occurred on January 12, 2013, there have been 63 Strikeforce events held, including 20 in the promotion's Challengers series. Strikeforce Grand Prix Strikeforce held tournaments in the men's heavyweight division from 2011–2012, and one-night tournaments in the men's middleweight divisions in November 2007 and the women's bantamweight division in August 2010. They were won respectively by Daniel Cormier, Jorge Santiago, and Miesha Tate. Final champions Strikeforce records In other media Video games EA Sports MMA was released in 2010 featuring Strikeforce fighters and branding, along with fictional global MMA