https://www.mmanews.com/news/rule-changes-help-mma-fighters-who-sustain-eye-pokes-illegal-strikes
With mixed martial arts still in its infancy, the sport is far from fully developed when it comes to rules and regulations.
Because of that, MMA frequently undergoes added stipulations and adjustments to the rulebook in order to add further legitimacy, oversight, and health and safety provisions.
Looking to implement those is the Association of Boxing Commissions, a North American not-for-profit professional boxing and MMA organization that organizes contests and record-keeping.
Among its aims, the ABC looks to âpromote continual improvement of boxing, mixed martial arts, and other unarmed combat sportsâ and âpromote uniform health and safety standards in those sports.â
The latest move in pursuit of those goals has seen a pair of important changes voted into the unified rules by members of athletic commissions in the United States and Canada.
ABC Introduces Rules To Further Aid MMA Fighters Who Sustain Fouls
The ABCâs 35th annual conference recently took place in Las Vegas, with a number of topics and potential alterations to MMA guidance being discussed.
And a couple of successful changes and improvements to the handling of one area of the sport were recently detailed by Erik Magraken, a regulatory lawyer in combat sports.
In a video on social media, Magraken broke down two adjustments designed to aid MMA fighters who fall victim to eye pokes or illegal strikes. The first allows cutmen or cutwomen to enter the cage to treat wounds inflicted by illegal strikes, such as knees to a grounded opponent.
The second, meanwhile, focuses on how referees and doctors handle the aftermath of eye pokes. Moving forward, the victim of the foul will be permitted to utilize a cold compress. In addition, doctors are encouraged to allow the fighter to use a heavy portion of recovery time before enquiring about their vision.
âTwo brand new rules designed to help MMA fighters after they sustain a foul. These were just voted in at the Association of Boxing Commissionsâ conference last week in Nevada,â Magraken began. "Number one: when a foul occurs, whether itâs a clash of heads, whether itâs an illegal strike of some kind and you have a cut, fighters will now have up to five minutes to recover from that cut. During that time, a cutperson can come into the ring or cage and they can tend to that wound. They canât tend to anything else, but they can tend to the wound. It used to be the fighter had to resume the fight, make it to the end of the round, and only then the cutperson can come in. Theyâve changed that to say the cutperson can address it immediately to give that fighter a better chance of being able to continue.
âRule number two: this rule is designed to deal with how referees and doctors work together after an illegal eye poke,â Magraken continued. âWhen an eye poke occurs, timeout is called and the fighter has up to five minutes to recover. Hereâs the new nuances, number one: officials can give the fouled fighter a cold compress and they can put it on their eye to give them some time to recover. After a minute or 90 seconds, only then should the ringside physician come in. If possible, the doctor shouldnât immediately shine a light in the fighterâs eye and say, âCan you see?â Because the answer is often no, they canât see right away, and then the fight is called. Instead, these rules are designed to say, âLook, give the fighters time to recover, give them a tool to recover⌠let the fighter enjoy much of that five minutes, and then, and only then, ask if their vision is obstructed.â If it is, of course the bout is over. If itâs not, they had a fair chance to recover.â
The rule changes have seemingly been received well by the MMA community thus far, with some branding the alterations âno brainersâ.
As always, however, many suggested improvements in other areas. In the comments to Magrakenâs post, that included the allowance of 12-6 elbows, fixes to the scoring criteria, and glove adjustments that could further prevent eye pokes.
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I donât like the cut rule. Itâs going to interrupt the flow of fights and cause delays. I like the eye poke rule, though. There always seemed to be confusion with that. Some refs would give up to five minutes, but others would end the fight right away.
If they really want to stop eye pokes they should ban Jon Jones.
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I really want to see knees to a grounded opponent. Some guy in Bellator was playing the âone hand downâ game over the weekend.
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But itâs only for cuts caused by illegal blows.
I donât recall those happening all that often so I donât see this really being an issue.
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OK, so itâs only for illegal things like a headbutt or an illegal elbow. That wonât happen all that often then.
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Jones could still poke with those.
How about losing a point for a pokeâŚlow blow or fence grab with no warnings?
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I agree. They were already warned many times leading up to the starting bell.
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This is the solution and it has been for a long time!
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This is also Sound Logic that shouldnât be argued with
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It should be an immediate 1 point deduction for eye pokes.
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and they still refuse to make better gloves like the Pride ones that significantly reduce eye pokes. You seem them far less in ONE and other promotions.
If someone blatantly grabs a fence to stop a takedown, they should call time and reposition them with the fouler on bottom and take a point. Ive seen that fuck a fight up too many times to count. A grappler grinds and grinds and grinds and finally secures a sure takedown only to get stifled by an illegal fence grab that receives a warning.
If someone kicks someone in the nuts, that has to be dealt with on the fly (no pun intended). People are moving and inside leg kicks, clinch knees, and teeps are legit techniques that sometimes go awry. Second foul is a point whether intentional or not.
When Jon Jones pokes someone in the eye, he should have his wanking hand cut off.
Poke I agree with, especially if itâs a person known for doing it. Warn them before the fight that pokes arenât tolerated.
Low blow is a little different because sometimes the guy moves into the kick.
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