Mixed martial arts is still a young sport, and that means there should be more flexibility to changing rules.
All sport change their rules to make their games more exciting and more safe. The major sports all convene on a yearly basis to discuss rule changes. MMA should follow suit in having swifter action toward the rule changes. The sport follows the unified rules set by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).
So what should the ABC reexamine for MMA? Here are four areas the governing body should look into the next time they meet.
Knees to a Grounded Opponent
This is one of the more popular suggestions from fans. It used to be allowed in MMA and was a popular rule in PRIDE.
Knees to a grounded opponent can lead to more finishes, but more importantly, it leads to more movement on the ground. A fighter in a precarious position would not be able to stall with an impending knee on its way.
The overriding question would be about safety. It is an honest question to ask. Does a knee to a grounded opponent pose greater risk than typical stiff ground-and-pound? Is it more dangerous than your average stand-up attrition? Judging the health effects is above my pay grade, but the ABC should listen to fighters and doctors alike to reach a conclusion on this hotly debated rule.
CONTROVERSY .. Tim Means knees a downed opponent .. fight continues .. #UFC #FightNight http://t.co/AaqY1dYqbM pic.twitter.com/t75QwSaxxR
— Vendetta Fighter (@VendettaFighter) December 21, 2014
Definition of a Grounded Opponent
So knees to a grounded opponent may be too dangerous. Even if so, the one rule they absolutely must look into is the definition of what constitutes a grounded opponent.
Of course, you know exactly what I am talking about. The asinine notion that a fighter putting his hand down should absolve him of eating a knee to the face.
Under the current rule structure, I am OK with fighters doing this. It's gamesmanship. It's smart. But it is a dumb rule. The difference in taking a knee with their fingertips on the mat is null. Instead you end up playing a dangerous game of the offensive fighter trying to time a knee perfectly. If he does, it could mean a victory. If he does—a disqualification? That's just plain stupid.
There is no rule in MMA today that needs change quicker. The ABC should make a downed opponent someone on their knees and/or elbows—not their fingertips.
12-6 Elbows
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan routinely expresses his displeasure about 12-6 elbows being outlawed and the ignorance of why it is banned to begin with. Brick breaking is what Mr. Rogan always cites as that reason being.
We know enough now to change this rule. They should be legal. If the ABC is scared to make that change even in today's MMA world, then they should at least begin testing it in certain test areas. Then they can make the widespread change after their fears are eased.
Clarification on Judging and Referee Criteria
This is the biggest, and the most difficult, area the ABC needs to address. The current criteria ambiguity is off the charts. Fans, fighters and executives never truly know what is going to happen in a fight with the referee or the judges.
That should not be the case in a sport.
The UFC posts the unified rules on its website. A quick read of them quickly highlights some of the subjectivity of the rules and how judges routinely ignore some of the criteria. More commissions need to review the quality of their judges or provide more education to them.
As for refereeing, there needs to be a stricter guidelines to taking points for infractions.
Some refs will give you one warning, and some refs will give you infinity warnings with no punishment at all. Having a standard practice of taking points for infractions of the rules will ultimately play a role in curtailing the infractions to begin with. Fighters know they can grab the cage without repercussion the vast majority of the time.
There is set criteria, and judges and referees need to begin abiding by it in a stricter manner.
