MMA Rules not completely unified at start of 2017

At the 2016 Association of Boxing Commissions convention, several changes to the Unified Rules of mixed martial arts were proposed by the ABC Rules and Regulations committee. The dream team included:
Fighters:
•Randy Couture
•Jeremy Horn
•Matt Hughes
Referees
•’Big’ John McCarthy
•Robert Hinds
•Kevin McDonald
Regulators 
•Sean Wheelock
•Matt Woodruff
•Brian Dunn, and,
Dr. David Watson.

The group proposed a refining of the definition of a downed fighter, means for referees to more ably stop eye pokes, a lifting of the prohibition on heel kicks to the kidneys, new judging criteria, and more. More complete details can be found here.

The new rules passed with near unanimity. Rhonda Utley-Herring, representing the New Jersey Athletic Commission, voted no, and offered a detailed explanation as to why. The membership did not find it compelling. Mississippi voted not present. And there was an abstention from Tennessee, which no longer has a functioning athletic commission.

The rules are set to take effect on January 1, although some commissions instituted them more quickly. The influential California State Athletic Commission, for example, adopted the new rules on December 10.

However, Marc Raimondi investigated for MMA Fighting, and not all commissions will be adopting the new Unified Rules. The ABC is mandated by Federal law, for boxing. The spirit of the law has been applied to MMA, but failure to follow its guidelines has no punishment. For example, if a state or province wants to allow Pride Rules, they can. The organization works ultimately through good will, and that is not entirely in abundance at present.

States that will not be adopting the new Unified Rules on January 1 include Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and South Dakota. Texas votes on the rules on March 24. Nevada may vote on the rules in January. The Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) is not a voting member of the ABC but director of operations Cristiano Sampaio was present at the latest ABC convention and said the proposed changes are being reviewed by the relevant CABMMA committees.

The first four UFC event of 2017 will be in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and New York. Of these, only New York will be adopting the rules on January 1.

The two rules that some commission find problematic are the allowing of heel kicks to the kidneys from bottom Guard, and the defining of a downed fighter as both hands on the ground.

Supporters say if while standing, full power, leveraged punches to the kidneys are legal, kicks to the kidneys are legal, and knees to the kidneys are legal, then it is nonsensical in the extreme to prohibit heel kicks from a bottom Guard. New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Counsel Nick Lembo made a passionate case against allowing them during a recent interview.

Fighters regularly let the tail wag the dog – dropping a pinky to the ground to avoid knees. The rule was designed to stop knees to the head, not to get fighters to lower their head in a fight to avoid punishment. Supporters say the new definition – both hands or fists on the mat – makes it less likely for fighters to get hit in the head. Detractors argue it will lead to more head trauma, at a time when head trauma in sports is of international concern.

Detractors of the changes say they need more input from doctors. Supporters say there was abundant influential input from doctors, and that based on MD feedback, other proposed changes were shelved, like the end of the 12-6 elbow ban and a redefinition of the back of the head. Supporters further note that the rules changes passed through the ABC’s medical committee. Dr. Larry Lovelace, the president of the ARP and a member of the ABC medical committee, has publicly supported the new changes.

Further complicating the issue, Ohio, Missouri, Maryland, and Virginia were among the commissions that did not attend the annual ABC conference this year. Former ABC president Tim Lueckenhoff launched a parallel group this year called the Association of Combative Sports Commission (ACSC). New Jersey State Athletic Commission commissioner Larry Hazzard, Ohio Athletic Commission executive director Bernie Profato did attend the inaugural ACSC convention this year.

However, the major industry stakeholders have come out publicly in support of the new rules.

UFC has consistently embraced more thorough regulation of MMA, and adopted the Unified Rules of MMA in September 2001, said the UFC in a statement. These rules help ensure athlete safety and fair competition by providing a consistent set of rules for the sport – something that was missing in the early days of mixed martial arts. All UFC bouts are now governed with full adherence to the provisions set forth in the Unified Rules of MMA. UFC continues to support athletic commissions as they work to update and improve upon the Unified Rules of MMA.

Bellator MMA too endorsed the rules changes.

Please accept this letter as an endorsement of the modifications approved by the ABC to the unified rules for MMA, wrote Bellator regulatory affairs head Cory Schafer. These changes reflect the results of a disciplined process of study and consideration by a committee imminently qualified for the task. The ABC’s near unanimous approval not only establishes the industries belief in the value of these changes but also demonstrates support for a continued commitment for improvement.

Current ABC president Mike Mazzulli defended the new Unified Rules.

Every year in every other major sport — football, basketball, baseball, hockey — they have a rules committee that reviews every single rule in their particular sport, said Mazzulli. And they recommend to the owners the changes to better the sport. That’s what we’re doing. We’re mainstream now. The sport is mainstream now. It’s the fastest growing sport in any professional sports industry. We need to be at the forefront of it and I think we are.

ABC medical committee chair and executive officer of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) Andy Foster is confident time will cure the issue.

All states didn’t adopt the first Unified Rules in 2001 or 2002 or 2003 or 2004 or 2005, said Foster. But eventually all states adopted them. It’ll be the same thing with this. This is a fairly major revision.