Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), established in 1800, was made an official sport through the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1992. When we think of MMA, self-defense or brutality comes to mind.
As said by MMAwhisper.com, it goes beyond self-defense and brutality and helps you connect with your body and mind.
Despite what early mixed martial arts advertisements may have led you to assume, numerous rules have developed with time. This is why mixed martial arts rules are quite different from what they used to be.
In this article, we are going to talk about 6 rare MMA rules you have never heard of; thus, with no further ado, let’s get started!
6 MMA Rules You Have Never Heard Of
MMA has many rules, and new ones are added every other day. In such a case, keeping track of all the rules is difficult. Imagine watching a fight and doubting the referee’s decision because you had no idea about that rule.
So, let’s have a look at 6 MMA rules you have never heard of:
12-6 elbow
When you are in between a fight, there is so much happening. In such a situation, you can keep track of when, where, and how to hit. But keeping track of the angle your elbow is coming from is a bit difficult to do.
In MMA, a 12-6 elbow is not allowed. It means that you cannot hit with your elbow at a straight downward angle. To understand this, look at your wall clock and swing your elbow from 12 to 6 o’clock.
Fear is banned
Being a large source of entertainment, MMA has to take care of the fighter as well as the entertainment of the spectators. No sport can flourish without spectators or supporters. The body of sports is its fans.
So what entertains them? The aggression, and sometimes blood too. Nobody would want to see a dull fight. This is why referees ask the fighters to stand up and fight again when they are locked into each other for too long on the ground.
You cannot fear your opponent and get timid in the cage or avoid every attack from your opponent by running around in the cage. You have to take the fight.
This is also rare because the fighters know they are there for a fight. Nick Serra, a UFC fighter, got disqualified once because of this rule.
No abusive language
When you think about fighting, trash talk makes it better, doesn’t it? It brings up the heat even before the games have started. It keeps all the spectators entertained as well.
Well, the use of abusive language is completely banned inside the cage if you talk about the MMA sport, the UFC. Every trash talk outside the cage is done solely for the entertainment of the onlookers. More spectators bring in more money, and that’s it.
Fighters actually have a lot of mutual respect for each other; the audience can see everyone’s grudges.
Cannot break fingers or toes
Breaking and smashing come to our minds when we think of an interesting MMA fight. But hold your horse; it is also banned inside the cage. This was done because some boxers used various techniques to win fights.
Even if the fighter tries to do this, he will surely disqualify himself. Many of you didn’t know about this because it doesn’t happen often. It is rare because the fighter can’t even give an excuse for doing it accidentally.
No strikes to a grounded opponent
This rule can be confusing because it is different in different regions. In general, “no strike to a grounded opponent” means that you can hit the opponent when they are on the ground or on their feet, but you cannot hit them while they are getting up.
Cannot throw out of the cage
MMA is not the WWE Royal Rumble, where you have to throw the opponent out of the ring (as in the case of WWE) to disqualify them. Everything will happen inside the cage. You are going to win or lose inside the cage.
The most important thing about this rule is that you will be disqualified even if you are caught attempting the throw. There have been instances where fighters got knocked out even when they were thrown through the cage gate.
That is the reason why several federations banned this move. Although the cages in MMA fights like the UFC are quite high, throwing the opponent out is not easy.
Conclusion
This is it! Those were the 6 MMA rules you have never heard of. With so many rules in the game, it is very difficult to keep track of time. Keeping in mind that new rules are being added every day makes this task even more difficult.
So, keep reading the articles with the best information on our site for such interesting facts.