On Tuesday, the Boxing Commission and Martial Arts Association took a much-needed step towards rectifying confusing mixed martial arts rules, something that legendary Jon Jones would no doubt have addressed sooner. This is a rule that I would have liked to have had.
The organization’s mixed martial arts rules committee passed language clarifying the definition of a grounded fighter, making it illegal for a grounded fighter to absorb a knee blow to the head.
The committee also agreed to remove language allowing so-called “12-to-6” elbows, or elbows from the 12 o’clock position to the 6 o’clock position.
The currently frequently enforced definition of a ground fighter creates confusing situations, unnatural combat postures, and sometimes leads to controversial end-of-fight situations.
“If a combatant touches the canvas (ground) with any part of his body other than his hands or feet, he is considered to be on the ground and cannot legally kneel or kick him in the head.” It is written in the approved text.
Under current ABC regulations, a ground fighter is one that “bears its weight on areas other than the soles of its feet.”
“This will make it a lot cleaner,” Andy Foster, executive director and chairman of the California State Athletic Commission, said in a phone call with the Post Tuesday night. “There’s definitely a sense of transparency. Everybody understands what this means. You’re either up or you’re down. That’s it. And I think that moves the fight forward.”
Members of the committee, which only meets a few times a year, compared the new language to being consistent with situations in which NFL players go down due to contact, but Foster said he is “not a football player.” Admitted.
Foster said efforts to update the language of ground combat accelerated during the latest season of Dana White’s Contender Series, an offshoot of the UFC that identifies up-and-coming talent to add to the main roster.
September 26th, Heavyweight Mario Piazon wins by disqualification Pearson’s hands on the mat resulted in a foul knee from Alexander Soldatkin, making him a downed opponent in the eyes of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Movsar Evloev’s victory over Arnold Allen at UFC 297 in Toronto on January 20th included a key moment in which Allen kicked Evloev, who was standing before he even put his hands on the mat, with a knee kick. The fact that the sequence was included was just a coincidence. .
“This was essentially the nail in the coffin that this rule needs to change,” Foster said of a recent incident in Ontario, Canada.
In the most famous example of a rare 12-6 elbow, Jones suffered a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009, when he peppered his opponent with a flurry of strikes that appeared to be on the verge of a TKO loss.
At one point, Jones delivered a 12-6 elbow, and when Hamill was unable to continue, Jones received a DQ, which remains his only loss as a professional.
“We’re going to eliminate that as well,” Foster said of the illegality of the 12-to-6 elbow.
Foster will continue to meet with regulators and present the proposal before bringing it to a vote ahead of this year’s annual ABC Conference, to be held July 19-24 in Louisville, Kentucky. He said he intends to educate people about the changes.
Foster expressed optimism that both proposals, which will be voted on separately, will be approved by the ABC and ideally adopted by all member committees.
That includes Ontario, which had introduced older language than what ABC currently uses for events such as UFC 297, and Foster said Canada’s He plans to discuss it with the committee.
“What we want is for every commission in North America to take advantage of these specific rules,” Foster said.
