What happens if a fighter's mouthguard falls out in the UFC? Official MMA rule explained

The UFC likes to be ahead of the curve in MMA in every aspect. This includes the sport's rule set, which still draws controversy due to a lack of universal agreement on certain rules, like whether knees to the head of grounded opponents should be allowed or whether oblique kicks should be banned.

However, one of the rules that often draws confusion is what happens or should happen whenever a fighter's mouthguard is dislodged during a fight. A round cannot begin if a fighter is not wearing their mouthguard, designed to protect their teeth from damage during bouts.

Thus, a fighter must wear their mouthguard at all times. If a mouthguard falls out of a fighter's mouth, the Official Unified MMA Rules, which the UFC has adopted, dictate that the referee must wait for an opportune moment to pause the fight to retrieve the fallen mouthguard and hand it to the fighter.

An opportune moment entails a specific moment during a fight that will not interfere with immediate action, so it cannot take place during a striking exchange or when grappling transitions are taking place. However, a referee can call for said pause if the two fighters are stalled against the fence without much action.

In some cases, the referee might replace the mouthguard altogether. One fight in particular, where a mouthguard falling out of a fighter's mouth led to pivotal moments was Michael Bisping's win over Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 84, as he was nearly knocked out by a flying knee in round three.

After losing his mouthguard, Michael Bisping motioned to Herb Dean to pause the action so he could retrieve his mouthguard. Dean didn't do so, and Silva pounced with a flying knee. Another fight where mouthguards were a prominent feature was Anthony Smith's loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight 171.

'Lionheart' claimed, in an interview with Ariel Helwani, that his shattered teeth were preventing him from wearing his mouthguard properly, and he couldn't keep it in his mouth. At times, UFC fighters might deliberately spit out their mouthguard, perhaps to force a pause in the action to catch a breather.

If the referee suspects a fighter of doing so, they reserve the right to deduct points from the offending fighter.