This Weekend’s UFC Fight Night Features 2 Major Rule Changes

Two major overhauls to the UFC's rules begin this weekend at UFC Edmonton.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

This weekend at UFC Edmonton, two major UFC overhauls go into effect.

The November 2 Fight Night, featuring a flyweight main event between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi, features tweaks to two controversial rules: The 12-6 elbow ban, and the grounded opponent rule.

The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports voted on the changes back in July.

No More 12-6 Ban

Jon Jones' only recorded defeat is by 12-6 elbow disqualification. / Justin M. Bowen

The 12-6 elbow ban has been removed. Fighters will no longer have to be wary of the rule, which has long been a point of contention. The old, arbitrary rule relied on referee discretion, and the definition of a 12-6 elbow was further muddied when referees had their own interpretations of what constituted a downward elbow.

"It’s so weirdly specific that it makes you wonder why we even have the rule," Referee John McCarthy told MMA Junkie in 2014. "... if it only applies when the offending fighter is throwing the elbow in a perfect perpendicular line with the floor, most situations would render that illegal or ineffective anyway. There’s already a rule against hitting the back of the head or the spine..."

New Grounded Opponent Definition

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

No longer will fighters be able to stall fights by placing a single hand on the canvas to deter kicks and knees. The new 'downed fighter' definition is as follows:

"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)." (h/t Ariel Helwani)

This means a fighter is only considered grounded if anything other than their hands or feet touch the canvas.

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