How the rules have changed in the UFC

Jon Jones was disqualified without being issued a warning, and it’s the only loss on his record to this day. Tuesday, an Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports committee voted unanimously to lift the ban on 12-6 elbows. A ban on the “straight up and straight down” elbow strike has existed since 2000. This topic is very controversial because of the damage it can do. In the early days of MMA, promotions like the UFC had fewer rules, and strikes to grounded opponents were allowed. This led to situations where fighters were severely hurt, and the sport gained a reputation for being brutal and unsafe. As MMA evolved and regulations were introduced, the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were developed to ensure fighter safety and help the sport gain mainstream acceptance. These rules, implemented in 2001, banned strikes like soccer kicks and knees to the head of a grounded opponent to reduce the risk of catastrophic injuries.

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In the UFC, In my opinion, you should be able to use all the weapons God has given you in any way, Except for blows to the groin or eyes, for obvious reasons. Every type of kick or elbow should be allowed. Specifically, a 12-6 elbow and kicks/knees to a grounded opponent are not allowed. The UFC prides itself in real fighting situations and allowing every time of recognized fighting to be allowed, these rules do not display that and as a professional fighter you should be skillful enough to have your own defenses ready to move and block any blow. Also, knowing the impact of these rules, fighters use them to their advantage and try to keep one knee on the ground or slide around the mat on their back as a defense mechanism. This is not fighting or combat in any real fighting situation; kicks and knees would come at you, and you would be severely disadvantaged by being on the ground. The UFC is all about real fighting.

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Many people and fighters have argued that a straight kick to the knee cap should be illegal because of the damage it can do and its long-term effects. Specifically, Jon Jones is known for this kick, and he put it best when he said if a guy punches you and kicks you in the head, trying to take your head off,

essentially trying to give you brain damage (which combat sports are known to do), it’s an even trade-off. How is it wrong to mess up someone’s leg for life but not their brain? Like I said before, as a fighter, you should be skillful enough to have your own defenses ready to dodge or block any blow.

This goes into my next point on when the ref should stop the fight. There have been far too many instances where a fight has been stopped way too early, and a fight has been stopped way too late. I’ve seen many fights where a fighter has been blocking and protecting himself on the ground, moving, showing signs of life and conscience, then the ref stops the battle, and justifiably so, the fighter goes to the ref in confusion. It’s Almost like a grounded opponent has to show some offense for the fight not to be called, even if they’re okay. The fight should only be called when a fighter is clearly unresponsive or when a severe Injury has occurred, for example, a broken limb. There have been too many instances when a fighter is clearly knocked out from a blow or unconscious from submission, and a referee has let the one-sided fight go on for an extra 5-10 seconds, which are seconds that matter for quality of life post-fight.