The Perfect Rules?

[KangTsai]

The MMA ruleset (Bellator and UFC), although as close to real fighting you can get in an organised, legal way these days, still has giant flaws holding it back from the sport's potential.

Rules I don't like-

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - I don't really see a reason for this being a problem. It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured, and it lead to some frankly awesome moments like Vanderlei Silva's ground axe kick knockout.
• No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't? I perfectly understand. RIP Jon Jones' undefeated status.
• The gloves - I don't have a precise solution, but MMA gloves are frankly no better than small boxing gloves. They handicap grapplers and do nothing to protect fighters from serious concussive injuries.
• The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs. Maybe even one endless round with it counting as a no contest if the fight exceeds 45 minutes or something.
• Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.
• No striking the back of head - Dumb. Backs of heads get struck all the time, they're just considered "accidental." What's gently hammer-fisting the back of someone's head when you can kick their head with a biological baseball bat?

Basically almost every Joe Rogan complaint (except the one about replacing the cage with a sanda arena, I think that the cage introduces more depth but the sanda arena has its own advantages).
Suggestions encouraged.

 

[Kickboxer101]

No..that's just a stupid thing to say. Soccer kicks are extremely dangerous and it's very lucky no ones gotten seriously hurt that we know of. Kicking an unconscious man in the head that goes beyond a sport that's just being a thug.

Have you ever been In the back of the head? There's a soft spot there that can cause serious damage.

Without the rules we have mma wouldn't be around today. The rules are fine as they are.

 

[Tez3]

It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured,

Oh they did, badly.

No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't?

there is a very good reason for that rule.

Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.

That is extremely silly.

The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs.

That is totally impractical for many reasons, no one would promote shows like that. No one would fight in shows that did this.


I hate to sound patronising but I think you have little to no idea about MMA either the training, fighting, reffing or promoting of it. I have and I can tell you there is good reason for those rules, it's a sport not an amusement in the Roman circus.

 

[Transk53]

The MMA ruleset (Bellator and UFC), although as close to real fighting you can get in an organised, legal way these days, still has giant flaws holding it back from the sport's potential.

Rules I don't like-

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - I don't really see a reason for this being a problem. It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured, and it lead to some frankly awesome moments like Vanderlei Silva's ground axe kick knockout.
• No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't? I perfectly understand. RIP Jon Jones' undefeated status.
• The gloves - I don't have a precise solution, but MMA gloves are frankly no better than small boxing gloves. They handicap grapplers and do nothing to protect fighters from serious concussive injuries.
• The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs. Maybe even one endless round with it counting as a no contest if the fight exceeds 45 minutes or something.
• Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.
• No striking the back of head - Dumb. Backs of heads get struck all the time, they're just considered "accidental." What's gently hammer-fisting the back of someone's head when you can kick their head with a biological baseball bat?

Basically almost every Joe Rogan complaint (except the one about replacing the cage with a sanda arena, I think that the cage introduces more depth but the sanda arena has its own advantages).
Suggestions encouraged.

Actually seen that and the poor bugger was touch and go. As Kickboxer has said, it is dangerous, and yes I intimately know how it feels to take a back head shot. Downward elbows can also be deadly, so you would rather see a fighter maimed or killed in the cage?

 

[Tez3]

MMA is a sport, with rules for the fighters safety, if you don't like them then don't watch MMA. Many so called fans think they know better than the professionals ( happens in most sports and activities) some fans want to watch maiming, and perhaps even death, well sadly for them that's not going to happen. If you want to watch kicks to the head of downed opponents and downward elbows etc I suggest you follow the national football teams where the fans takes a delight in fighting outside of the stadia. The rules you suggest are the domain of thugs not martial arts fighters.

 

[Kickboxer101]

Actually seen that and the poor bugger was touch and go. As Kickboxer has said, it is dangerous, and yes I intimately know how it feels to take a back head shot. Downward elbows can also be deadly, so you would rather see a fighter maimed or killed in the cage?

Absolutely back head shots hurt. Before Christmas I was doing a technique and I caught my partner with a hammer fist to the back of the hard, it had literally barely any power and no hip rotation it was a weak arm shot. It was just meant to place but he moved up thinking I was dumb and it caught him and he yelled out and was rubbing his head and looked dazed and that was from a 1% power shot imagine someone going 100%

 

[Transk53]

Absolutely back head shots hurt. Before Christmas I was doing a technique and I caught my partner with a hammer fist to the back of the hard, it had literally barely any power and no hip rotation it was a weak arm shot. It was just meant to place but he moved up thinking I was dumb and it caught him and he yelled out and was rubbing his head and looked dazed and that was from a 1% power shot imagine someone going 100%

Yeah, would be endgame more than likely. Yeah mine was play fighting and was not overly dazed, but saw stars for a moment or two.

 

[Kickboxer101]

The MMA ruleset (Bellator and UFC), although as close to real fighting you can get in an organised, legal way these days, still has giant flaws holding it back from the sport's potential.

Rules I don't like-

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - I don't really see a reason for this being a problem. It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured, and it lead to some frankly awesome moments like Vanderlei Silva's ground axe kick knockout.
• No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't? I perfectly understand. RIP Jon Jones' undefeated status.
• The gloves - I don't have a precise solution, but MMA gloves are frankly no better than small boxing gloves. They handicap grapplers and do nothing to protect fighters from serious concussive injuries.
• The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs. Maybe even one endless round with it counting as a no contest if the fight exceeds 45 minutes or something.
• Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.
• No striking the back of head - Dumb. Backs of heads get struck all the time, they're just considered "accidental." What's gently hammer-fisting the back of someone's head when you can kick their head with a biological baseball bat?

Basically almost every Joe Rogan complaint (except the one about replacing the cage with a sanda arena, I think that the cage introduces more depth but the sanda arena has its own advantages).
Suggestions encouraged.

Also I didn't talk about couple of your other points. Infinite rounds? That's just dumb safety wise and business wise. Business wise imagine if fights kept going and going and going for a 12 fight card it could end up lasting 18 hours the whole card for example. Safety wise people getting battered and exhausted for ages and ages would seriously damage health. Why do you think they got rid of 15 round boxing matches.

Short freedom: well I have no idea where that came from they're shorts basically the same as swimming trunks no fighter seems to ever had an issue with

The gloves: they do not handicap grapplers that's why people like Damian Maia are top guys.

Downward elbows: okay I may be wrong on this as to why it's more dangerous but this is just as a guess. A horizontal hits with the forearm and the point of the elbow is going at a different angle so I duller. But a downward one is hitting with just the point of the elbow and it makes it sharper. Again may be wrong or explaining it badly.

Tbh you sound like one of those guys you see in YouTube comments who sits at home watching mma with a beer and acting like a tough wanting them to fight to the death etc, now about you get in the cage with normal rules and feel it then see what your opinion is. Now I've competed in mma but I've done kickboxing and it's hard enough doing that without having to go infinite rounds or getting booted in the head when I'm on the floor

 

[JR 137]

The MMA ruleset (Bellator and UFC), although as close to real fighting you can get in an organised, legal way these days, still has giant flaws holding it back from the sport's potential.

Rules I don't like-

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - I don't really see a reason for this being a problem. It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured, and it lead to some frankly awesome moments like Vanderlei Silva's ground axe kick knockout.
• No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't? I perfectly understand. RIP Jon Jones' undefeated status.
• The gloves - I don't have a precise solution, but MMA gloves are frankly no better than small boxing gloves. They handicap grapplers and do nothing to protect fighters from serious concussive injuries.
• The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs. Maybe even one endless round with it counting as a no contest if the fight exceeds 45 minutes or something.
• Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.
• No striking the back of head - Dumb. Backs of heads get struck all the time, they're just considered "accidental." What's gently hammer-fisting the back of someone's head when you can kick their head with a biological baseball bat?

Basically almost every Joe Rogan complaint (except the one about replacing the cage with a sanda arena, I think that the cage introduces more depth but the sanda arena has its own advantages).
Suggestions encouraged.

I haven't watched MMA since the early days, but these rules were all added after the first few UFCs. And for good reasons.

I can't remember names, but a Savate fighter kicked a downed Sumo fighter in the head. A tooth (or two) went flying a few rows back. The way his neck torqued in slo mo, he was quite lucky he got out on his own.

What do you think a straight downward elbow would do to the spine or back of the head?

There were "fights" where people would hold their opponent in the guard for 45 minutes. A lot of people don't want to pay to watch what looked like two guys taking a nap. This was around the time that I lost interest too.

And so on.

The rules weren't all put made initially. They're an evolution of the sport. They were placed to protect the fighters, and to make the sport marketable.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The MMA ruleset (Bellator and UFC), although as close to real fighting you can get in an organised, legal way these days, still has giant flaws holding it back from the sport's potential.

Rules I don't like-

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - I don't really see a reason for this being a problem. It was in PrideFC, nobody got injured, and it lead to some frankly awesome moments like Vanderlei Silva's ground axe kick knockout.
• No down elbows - So, an elbow thrown sort of downwards is okay but straight downwards isn't? I perfectly understand. RIP Jon Jones' undefeated status.
• The gloves - I don't have a precise solution, but MMA gloves are frankly no better than small boxing gloves. They handicap grapplers and do nothing to protect fighters from serious concussive injuries.
• The point system - It is really not an accurate way of determining a winner. I say just get rid of it and host infinite rounds until a/n in/voluntary stoppage occurs. Maybe even one endless round with it counting as a no contest if the fight exceeds 45 minutes or something.
• Shorts freedom - Make everybody wear spandex. No problems have happened with skintight clothes ever.
• No striking the back of head - Dumb. Backs of heads get struck all the time, they're just considered "accidental." What's gently hammer-fisting the back of someone's head when you can kick their head with a biological baseball bat?

Basically almost every Joe Rogan complaint (except the one about replacing the cage with a sanda arena, I think that the cage introduces more depth but the sanda arena has its own advantages).
Suggestions encouraged.

Please don't follow Joe Rogan. It's easy for Joe to say these things when he's not taking those beatings in the ring.

 

[Kickboxer101]

Please don't follow Joe Rogan. It's easy for Joe to say these things when he's not taking those beatings in the ring.

Completely agreed there. Rogan is a decent martial artist but he's not an mma fighter so he has no place to insult the rules I'm sure if he was in there he'd be all for the rules. One thing that annoyed me with rogan was one guy had a huge cut on his eye and the doctor was looking at it closely and rogan was mouthing off going "oh come on its fine, this doctors got to go watch some mma"

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - One of my friend's son was killed this way.
• No down elbows - I was almost killed this way.
  
• No striking the back of head - IMO, the back of the head is the weakest spot in human body.

When your opponent tries to use "jump guard" or "gull guard" to drag you down, a sharp straight elbow drop on his throat (or on his heart) can kill him right there.

I'm surprise that the "knee drop" is not in this list.

 

[JP3]

The rules keep it from being gladiatorial combat, allow the fighters to fight, pretty brutally, yet not (hopefully) maim each other and cause loss of years of physical abaility. Also, certain jurisdictions, such as New York, would not allow UFC style fighting until more safe/restrictive fight rules were implemented.


So, if you want to watch UFC style fights, then you have to have UFC style rules.

 

[Transk53]

Rules are rules.

 

[Kickboxer101]

The rules keep it from being gladiatorial combat, allow the fighters to fight, pretty brutally, yet not (hopefully) maim each other and cause loss of years of physical abaility. Also, certain jurisdictions, such as New York, would not allow UFC style fighting until more safe/restrictive fight rules were implemented.


So, if you want to watch UFC style fights, then you have to have UFC style rules.

Yep and New York only just approved it this year

 

[Kickboxer101]

• No kicking grounded targets on the head - One of my friend's son was killed this way.
• No down elbows - I was almost killed this way.
  
• No striking the back of head - IMO, the back of the head is the weakest spot in human body.

When your opponent tries to use "jump guard" or "gull guard" to drag you down, a sharp straight elbow drop on his throat (or on his heart) can kill him right there.

I'm surprise that the "knee drop" is not in this list.

I can't watch Japanese mma because of the soccer kicks. It makes me feel sick how many times have you heard about someone getting killed by getting stamped in the head and that's just regular guys imagine a fully trained in shape guy jumping on your head would do. It's honestly disgusting to me that anyone would find that fun to watch heck I even refused to do it in the ufc video game lol.

As for the back of the head being weakest spot personally I'd say It's one of the weakest but I'd put the throat or the eyes higher i mean with the eyes it only takes the smallest touch to cause huge pain

 

[Headhunter]

Are you serious? How about you get booted in the head from the floor or hit in the back of the head or had a downward elbow then tell me it's not dangerous. People die in the ring from punches with 16 ounce gloves in boxing do you really think a shin or an elbow can't kill someone? A friend of mines son was in a coma for months after a boxing match and taking a right hook to the head that didn't look much.

If you think that would improve the sport you are seriously deluded

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

"Sport" is for fun. It makes no sense to die or get serious injury in "sport" than in street fight.

 

[Transk53]

"Sport" is for fun. It makes no sense to die or get serious injury in "sport" than in street fight.

Yes the street fight has different rules, as does the sanctiond fight, or not. But yes this thread has gone South.

 

[drop bear]

So nobody knows one FC. which is the second biggest mma competition in the world you American centric bastards.

And why nobody knows who Adrian Pang is.

Otherwise there is plenty of different MMA for people who want different things out of it. Ranging from Head gear and no GNP to the head on the deck. To rio heros style no gloves. To even team matches and obsticle course matches.

So there is a MMA rule set for almost everybody.