At the 2016 annual Association of Boxing Commissions convention, members voted overwhelmingly to adopt the changes to the Unified Rules of MMA put forward by the MMA Rules and Regulations committee. The dream team rules committee, chaired by Kansas Athletic Commission member Sean Wheelock, included John McCarthy, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Dr. David Watson. The committee set out to make revisions to the Unified Rules for the first time since their inception in 2001.
The committee put forward five changes to the Unified Rules of MMA:
•Changes to the approved apparel for female fighters;
•Removing grabbing the clavicle as a foul;
•Removing heel kicks to the kidney as a foul;
•Added advancing towards your opponents’ eyes with outstretched fingers as a foul; and,
•Changing the definition of a downed fighter.
Voting on the changes as one package (without objection), the membership of the ABC voted 42-1 in favor of the changes, with one abstention (Tennessee) and one absence (Mississippi). The sole dissenting vote was cast by a representative of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.
However, adoption was spotty, with the larger bloc adopting the new rules, but a significant group adopting none or only some. The result was that the Unified Rules of MMA were not unified, most notably around the definition of a grounded fighter. The result was absurd, with fighters having to compete under significantly different rules sets, depending on the state or province.
At the 2019 convention, with Pennsylvania AC head Greg Sirb serving as an intermediary, a compromise was reached, with the intention of again unifying the Unified Rules. Under this plan, dissenting commissions agreed to the new female apparel rule, removing clavicle grabs, allowing heel kicks from bottom guard, and prohibiting fingers pointed towards the eyes. And most importantly, there is a new compromise definition of a down fighter.
Effective January 1, 2020 the following compromise rule will be in effect: The illegal action of kicking or kneeing the head of a grounded opponent: A grounded fighter is defined as: Any part of the body, other than the soles of the feet (excluding fingers) touching the fighting area floor. A fighter will be considered grounded if the palm or closed fist of one hand, and/or any other body part, is touching the fighting area floor.
The compromise is of course contingent upon the dissenting commissions adopting the new rule set, as they have agreed to. When they do, it represents a monumental step forward for the sport, a sterling legacy for outgoing ABC president Michael Mazzulli, and an object lesson in the power of the democratic process to create a solution that, while imperfect in the judgment of many, is a vast improvement.
Nebraska AC head Brian Dunn was elected as the new president of the ABC, for the two-year term.
New York State Athletic Commission executive director Kim Sumbler and Connecticut State Police Detective Mark Langlais, administrator of boxing and MMA for the public safety department’s special licensing and firearms unit, were elected as co-Vice Presidents, also for a two-year term.
