Before British mixed martial artist Stuart Austin starts the second round of his heavyweight fight against Adam Palasz, he looks up and sees something which changes the dynamic of the bout.

Austin, 35, notices on the big screens inside the Utilita Arena in Newcastle that the judges have awarded the first round to his opponent.

The concept of open scoring between rounds – allowing fighters to see how judges are assessing a fight – is rare in MMA, with European promotion Oktagon adopting it for the first time in December before bringing it to the UK.

Realising he’s losing the fight, Austin ups his aggression, knocking Palasz down with an elbow before submitting him with an arm triangle.

“I liked the open scoring. I looked up and there were the scores and I was like ‘Oh flipping heck I lost that round – I better go and throw a few more punches and kicks and try a bit harder’,” said Austin.

“I liked it. It actually affected my strategy a bit and I pushed a bit harder.”

Czech-Slovak promotion Oktagon held their first UK show in Manchester in November, but the event in Newcastle marked their debut on British soil using open scoring.

US-based promotion Invicta Fighting Championships has trialled the system in the past, but the majority of organisations such as the UFC, PFL and Bellator stick to the more traditional format of judges’ scorecards being revealed after the fight.

In a close bout this prevents fighters from coasting at the end as they cannot be sure if they are ahead on the scorecards, and it builds anticipation and excitement for fans around the announcement of the winner.