MMA News: Jon Jones Can Appeal His Only UFC Loss after Groundbreaking Rule Change

"Bones" Jones would've had a perfect pro record had it not been for the '12 to 6 elbow' rule.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is many things, but undefeated he is not.

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On paper, Jones has only lost one time in his professional career, and that was a disqualification to Matt Hamill back in 2009. In top position, Jones delivered illegal 12 to 6 elbows (downward pointing elbow strikes) to the head of Hamill which saw him DQ'ed by the referee and handed his first (and so far only) MMA loss across 29 fights.

However, 15 years later, there's apparently a chance that Jones can see his 27-1 (1 NC) record rectified.

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones / Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Can Jon Jones Become Undefeated Again?

On Tuesday, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports Mixed Martial Arts Committee (ABC) made two massive changes to the Unified MMA rules, with the first being the removal of the previous '12 to 6 elbow' rule, which prohibited the downward strike.

According to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Jon Jones could potentially appeal his disqualification loss to Matt Hamill for a No Contest result following this rule change all these years later.

"Worth noting, Jon Jones can appeal his 2009 loss to Matt Hamill to get it overturned into a no contest (not a win) but it *might* be too late since that was almost 15 years ago," Helwani wrote on 'X', sharing the ABC's latest amendments.

"Yeah long shot but some commissioners have told me they’d advise him to at least try," Helwani said of Jones' chances of getting his loss overturned.

Worth noting, Jon Jones can appeal his 2009 loss to Matt Hamill to get it overturned into a no contest (not a win) but it *might* be too late since that was almost 15 years ago https://t.co/nLVVjdcrg7

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 23, 2024

Jones Reacts To Rule Change

"Undefeated then, undefeated now," Jones wrote of the rule change on Instagram. "@danawhite we gotta get that loss out of the history books."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bony (@jonnybones)

Update To 'Grounded Opponent' Rule

The second rule change is in regards to the definition of a grounded opponent. As it has stood for years, the rule's former language states: "To be grounded, the palm of one hand (a flat palm) must be down, and/or any other body part must be touching the fighting area floor. A single knee, arm, (not fingers) makes the fighter grounded without having to have any other body part in touch with the fighting area floor. At this time, kicks or knees to the head will not be allowed."

As for the new, approved language, it reads: "A fighter shall be considered grounded and may not be legally kneed or kicked to the head when any part of their body other than their hands or feet is in contact with the canvas (ground)."

Ariel Helwani also reports that Nov. 1, 2024 is when these changes will implemented to get other commissions up to speed with these two amendments.

Could we really see Jon Jones ONLY loss get overturned? pic.twitter.com/bW5zEMoxmJ

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 23, 2024

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