ABC Passes Revised Unified Rules (STILL no knees to a down opponent)
Revamped Rules Expand Weight Divisions wrote:
ABC Passes Revised Unified Rules
Thursday, July 03, 2008
by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)
MONTREAL -- A revised edition of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts was passed Thursday by the Association of Boxing Commissions via a majority vote at the ABC's annual conference.
The amended document -- drafted by the ABC's MMA Chairman Dale Kliparchuk, New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Deputy Attorney Nick Lembo, ABC President Timothy Leuckenhoff and veteran referee "Big" John McCarthy -- primarily provided clarifications to the already existing Unified Rules instituted in April 2001 that serve as a regulatory beacon for the sport throughout North America.
The motion to pass the revised document was introduced by Commissioner Gary Litchfield of Massachusetts, and Utah representative Bill Colbert seconded the motion.
Forty regulatory bodies were in attendance for the annual event. The California State Athletic Commission and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, both known for regulating a large amount of MMA events in their states, did not attend.
Included in the clarifications, additional verbiage was added to the regulations constituting an illegal strike to the back of a competitor's head. The revised rules now distinguish the back of the head as the "crown of the head down the centerline of the skull into the spine, with a one-inch variance to each side." This is commonly referred to as the "Mohawk" definition.
In addition, verbiage prohibiting elbow strikes in the downward "12-to-6 o'clock" motion was stricken, as the original rule's intention was to prohibit the technique to the restricted spinal cord area, not ban the actual movement itself. Elbow strikes of all kinds are permissible, except to illegal areas.
Smothering the mouth or nose of an opponent has been added to the Unified Rules' fouls list, prohibiting a fighter from using his hand to prevent his opponent's ability to breathe. According to the new verbiage, this does not include choke attempts where a fighter's mouth is covered by his opponent's arm.
An amendment to include knees to the head of a downed opponent was not part of the revised regulations.
Fourteen weight classes are now defined in the men's division under the Unified Rules, beginning at the 105-pound flyweight division and moving up in 10-pound increments to super heavyweight at 265 pounds and over. In particular, the welterweight division will now range from 165-175 pounds, while light heavyweight fighters will be specified between 205-225 pounds. Heavyweight entrants will be asked to weigh in between 225-265 pounds.
Promotions will not be required to adopt the new weight divisions. However, if they do not, they will not be following Unified Rules.
Ten female weight divisions were also defined, along with the passage of amateur MMA regulations, which consist of three three-minute rounds with 90-second rest periods.
With the passage of these revised rules, regulatory bodies can now adopt them into their individual state legislatures, as well as tweak them at their own discretion under their jurisdictions.
