A pair of significant changes to the unified rules of mixed martial arts were approved on Tuesday afternoon.
The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports Mixed Martial Arts Committee voted to eliminate the rule prohibiting a downward pointing elbow strike — or 12 to 6 elbow.
The 12 to 6 elbow is what led to the only loss in Jon Jones’ career and has been a long-debated topic in MMA circles. Jones was disqualified for using the strike against Matt Hamill in a 2009 bout.
After the news broke, Jones took to Instagram to react and plead his case to UFC president Dana White to have the loss wiped from his record.
“Undefeated then, undefeated now…,” he said in his post. “@danawhite we gotta get that loss out of the history books.”
The definition of a grounded opponent has also been changed.
Originally defined as: “Any part of the body, other sole of the feet touching the fighting area floor. To be grounded, the palm of one hand (a flat palm) must be down, and/or any other body part must be touching the fighting area floor. A single knee, arm, (not fingers) makes the fighter grounded without having to have any other body part in touch with the fighting area floor. At this time, kicks or knees to the head will not be allowed.”
The rule is now as follows:
“A fighter shall be considered grounded and may not be legally kneed or kicked to the head when any part of their body other than their hands or feet is in contact with the canvas (ground).”
Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter reported that the rule changes were approved unanimously in the vote and that they will go into effect on Nov. 1.
The vote took place at the Association of Boxing Commissions annual conference in Louisville, Ky.