Here’s some good news for you on this Thursday morning. A new rules committee has been formed which could have some serious consequences concerning some of mixed martial arts’ (MMA) most controversial rules. One of the most confusing rules in all of MMA has been the ban on 12-6 elbows, or, elbows thrown straight down rather than from an angle. According to legend, they were banned because some members of the original rules committee had seen too many late night ESPN 2 martial artist demonstrations destroy a series of solid blocks not long before the original meeting to create the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The 12-6 elbow rule is the only reason Jon Jones has a loss on his record, as he was disqualified after battering Matt Hamill with elbows on the ground after thoroughly dominating the former Ultimate Fighter season three finalist. Another important thing they plan on looking at will be the implementation of 10-8 rounds. As of right now, most judges are extremely strict in their use of the 10-8 rounds, while a select few are very liberal with their usage. It would be very helpful to fighters to have the definition of a 10-8 round ironed out. I for one, believe they should be used much more often than they currently are. There are several fighters who should have draws on their record who currently have losses instead. The committee will be led by a group of MMA experts including former Bellator commentator Sean Wheelock, former fighters Randy Couture, Matt Hughes and Jeremy Horn, referees Rob Hinds, Kevin MacDonald and pioneer referee John McCarthy, ringside physician Dr. David Watson, Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission director Matt Woodruff and Brian Dunn, the head of the Nebraska Athletic Commission. The group is expected to hold monthly conference calls before coming to a consensus on rule changes, which will be recommended to the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC). Fan opinion is also being brought into the fold, so feel free to send any thoughts or ideas on changes you’d like to make to MMARulesAndRegs@yahoo.com.
