5 possible rule changes that the UFC should consider implementing

The UFC might be the biggest MMA promotion in the world, but it’s certainly not perfect. One area it could definitely improve on is in the rules it uses.

The UFC’s rules have largely remained unchanged for the best part of two decades now, but could they be changed to improve things for both the fighters and the fans?

The answer is absolutely. There are definitely some rules of the octagon that could do with tweaking, if not overhauling entirely, to make for a better product for all.

With that in mind, here are five rule changes that the UFC should consider.

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#5. UFC referees should implement more point deductions for fouls and infractions

Deiveson Figueiredo's first clash with Brandon Moreno was one of the few examples of a point deduction affecting a result

Despite what many uneducated people might think, the UFC has plenty of rules that outlaw fouls inside the octagon. Strikes to the groin and the back of the head, for instance, are banned entirely, and a fighter also can’t perform questionable moves such as grabbing the fence or the gloves of their opponent.

However, the promotion’s use of a 10-point must system, which sees a fighter who wins a round gain 10 points, with their opponent taking nine or less based on various criteria, means that if a fighter is deducted even a single point, the outcome of a fight can be changed entirely.

While the results of some big fights, notably including the flyweight title bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno in late 2020, have been affected in this way, for the most part, it seems like referees are unwilling to take points away unless a combatant flagrantly performs multiple fouls in a round.

More to the point, “lesser” fouls like fence grabs are rarely dealt with correctly by the referee, with fighters usually only receiving a warning for what could be a fight-altering move.

Simply put, this isn’t right. The scoring system may need to be changed to reflect this, but the promotion’s referees ought to be encouraged to crack down more on petty fouls like fence grabs, and should be told to take points more liberally in order to prevent these infractions.

#4. The UFC should use open scoring with a more flexible 10-point system

Controversial results like Ketlen Vieira's win over Holly Holm might be lessened with an overhaul of the judging system

Perhaps the biggest criticism of the UFC’s current ruleset is the judging system it uses. Not only has the 10-point must system – a hangover from the world of boxing – come under criticism on numerous occasions over the years, but at times it seems like the judges don’t really know what they’re looking for inside the octagon.

One way to fix this could be to replace or alter the 10-point must system, changing it into something more suitable for MMA. For instance, where one knockdown guarantees a 10-8 round in boxing, there are no such rules in MMA.

If there were clearer criteria, then – so a round would be scored in a certain way if one fighter were to dominate on the ground without coming close to a finish, for instance – it’d be much easier for the judges to make the correct calls and not cause controversy as they did this past weekend in the Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira bout.

Open scoring could also help in this sense, as it would allow fighters to know exactly what the judges are thinking and what they need to do to alter their gameplan in order to look for a victory.

As for the judges themselves, perhaps replacing the majority of them with ex-MMA fighters would be an improvement, although that would depend, of course, on whether enough of them would be willing to take this thankless job on.

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#3. The UFC should legalize knees on the ground in certain situations

Should the knee to the head of a grounded opponent really be illegal in the octagon?

The UFC has always attempted to replicate the conditions of a “real fight” as closely as possible, albeit without allowing strikes like groin shots and eye pokes that would even be considered “dirty” in a street fight.

However, when the Unified Rules of MMA were put together some two decades ago, it was decided that one strike that ought to be outlawed due to safety concerns was the knee to the head of a downed opponent.

Allegedly, these strikes were deemed overly dangerous after New Jersey State Athletic board members witnessed a particularly violent finish from former UFC contender Gan McGee using them. However, are they really more dangerous than some of the other strikes used in the octagon?

To be frank, it’s debatable. More worryingly, some fighters have essentially turned this rule into gamesmanship, dropping a hand to the ground to make them a “grounded fighter” in order to avoid taking knees to the head when standing.

The rule also overly favours wrestlers who have found their takedown attempt stuffed by their opponent via a sprawl.

With that considered, perhaps a good alteration to make would be to continue to outlaw knees to the head of a completely downed opponent – i.e. one who is on their back – but allow a fighter to use knees against an opponent shooting for a takedown.

Not only would this make for more exciting fights, but it’d remove a lot of gamesmanship and would lessen the advantage that wrestlers have inside the octagon.

One fighter who would definitely welcome this? Petr Yan, who famously lost his bantamweight title to Aljamain Sterling after being disqualified for such a strike.

#2. The UFC should legalize 12-6 elbow strikes

Jon Jones was famously disqualified for using 12-6 elbows in his fight with Matt Hamill

One major oddity of the UFC’s current rules is that while elbows to the head of an opponent are welcomed, they have to be thrown at an arc of sorts, or come from a horizontal angle. Any elbow strike that comes from a vertical angle – the so-called “12-6” elbow – is illegal.

Apparently, the reason for this rule is somewhat bizarre. Reportedly, when the Unified Rules of MMA were put together, a member of New Jersey’s Athletic Commission wanted to ban 12-6 elbows because he’d seen them used in brick-breaking demonstrations from traditional martial arts.

It’s now rare to see fighters fall foul of this rule inside the octagon, but there have been a couple of high-profile examples – namely Jon Jones, who suffered his only career defeat when he was disqualified for using 12-6 elbows in his bout with Matt Hamill.

But are these strikes really that deadly? The common consensus is no, not unless they’re used to smash the tip of the elbow into the spine, a strike that would be illegal regardless.

With that considered, the UFC should look to modify this rule and legalise the 12-6 elbow, primarily because it wouldn’t really make that much of a difference and certainly wouldn’t harm the safety of fighters.

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#1. The UFC’s gloves should be modified to prevent so many eye pokes

Inadvertent eye pokes might be the most frustrating thing to happen in the modern-day UFC

Perhaps the most frustrating thing to see in the UFC right now is fighters suffering inadvertent eye pokes at the hands of their opponents. It’s very rare to see a genuinely intentional eye gouge in the octagon, but almost every fight features at least one accidental eye poke.

These incidents tend to occur when fighters either use an outstretched hand to palm their opponent away, or reach out with an open hand in order to gauge the distance between them and an opponent.

Of course, certain fighters, most notably former light heavyweight champions Jon Jones and Chuck Liddell, have also been accused of using the distance-gaging to deliver intentional eye pokes, although this has never been substantiated.

Either way, eye pokes can, at their worst, end a fighter’s career entirely or leave lasting damage, with Alan Belcher and Michael Bisping both standing as prime examples of stars who suffered serious eye injuries in the octagon.

So how can this problem be fixed? Referees are encouraged to crack down on open-handed reaching, but in reality, it’s almost a natural move for any human being to make, particularly when they’re thinking about so much more in a high-profile fight.

The best way to tackle this, then, would be to modify the gloves used in the UFC and make them force the fingers into a more curved position to begin with. The gloves used in Japan’s PRIDE promotion were more like this and helped to cut down eye pokes while not lessening a fighter’s ability to grapple.

Overall, this would be a better route to go down, rather than to implement something more draconian such as an instant point deduction for a clearly accidental poke.