We propose a theory for the MMRD relation of novae, using free-free emission model light curves built on the optically thick wind theory. We calculated (t 3 , M V,max ) for various sets of ( Ṁacc , M WD ), where M V,max is the peak absolute V magnitude, t 3 is the 3-mag decay time from the peak, and Ṁacc is the mass accretion rate on to the white dwarf (WD) of mass M WD . The model light curves are uniquely characterized by x ≡ M env /M sc , where M env is the hydrogen-rich envelope mass and M sc is the scaling mass at which the wind has a certain wind mass-loss rate. For a given ignition mass M ig , we can specify the first point x 0 = M ig /M sc on the model light curve, and calculate the corresponding peak brightness and t 3 time from this first point. Our (t 3 , M V,max ) points cover well the distribution of existing novae. The lower the mass accretion rate, the brighter the peak. The maximum brightness is limited to M V,max −10.4 by the lowest mass-accretion rate of Ṁacc 1 × 10 −11 M ⊙ yr −1 . A significant part of the observational MMRD trend corresponds to the Ṁacc ∼ 5 × 10 −9 M ⊙ yr −1 line with different WD masses. A scatter from the trend line indicates a variation in their mass-accretion rates. Thus, the global trend of an MMRD relation does exist, but its scatter is too large for it to be a precision distance indicator of individual novae.