New MMA rules including legal '12 to 6' elbows go into effect for UFC Edmonton

The UFC returns to Edmonton this weekend for the first time since 2019 when Fight Night action takes over Rogers Place. In addition to a quality fight card chock full of Canadian talent with a couple former champions in the main and co-main event, it also marks a significant moment in the sport’s history.

Saturday’s fight card will be the first UFC event to operate under a set of new rules that officially come into effect Nov. 1, one day before the organization hosts its third event in the Alberta capital.

In July, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports Mixed Martial Arts Committee voted to update the definition of what constitutes a grounded fighter and to eliminate a rule prohibiting downward pointing elbow strikes, more commonly referred to as "12 to 6" elbows.

The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission, the sanctioning body in charge of regulating professional combat sports in the city, has confirmed it will be using the new rules once they come into effect.

Fight fans will find out Saturday whether any athletes competing at UFC Edmonton try the new legal techniques, or use different strategies depending on in-cage position, to take advantage of the updated rules

'12 TO 6' ELBOWS

Picture the face of a clock, and now draw a line from the 12 down to 6. That straight shot, north to south, is what constituted a “downward pointing elbow strike.”

Fighters are occasionally warned, and the action temporarily paused, if a downward elbow strike lands, however, these fouls are not altogether common and do not often result in fights being stopped or athletes deducted a point.

The most notable incident of a "12 to 6" elbow impacting the result of a fight was 15 years ago when Jon Jones, in just his fourth UFC appearance before he was a champion, suffered his first and only official loss on his professional mixed martial arts record.

Jones was disqualified for landing the illegal strikes when he fought Matt Hamill in a Fight Night co-main event in December 2009.

The then-22-year-old gained mount position on Hamill and began raining down legal ground-and-pound elbow strikes. Some landed, others missed or were blocked, and Hamill was on the verge of being finished.

That’s when Jones changed the trajectory of the elbow strikes he was throwing.

After landing multiple "12 to 6" elbows in quick succession, referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the action due to the fouls and, because it was deemed Hamill could not continue, Jones was ultimately disqualified.

It will be fascinating to see which fighters look to use "12 to 6" elbows from mount, or even when on the feet.

There is a standing downward elbow strike technique in Muay Thai called a Sok Tong that we could see more fighters begin to use.

Here’s an example ONE fighter Jonathan Haggerty, from a couple years ago, used that helped him win a fight.

Ironically, a downward elbow strike — the same strike commonly used to break cement cinderblocks in old-school karate demonstrations — is not the most effective elbow strike available to use in combat sports. Many MMA pundits over the years, including Joe Rogan, had called for this rule to be eliminated.

Of the two rule changes, the one involving elbow strikes likely won’t, in theory, have as much of an impact as the new definition of what is a grounded fighter.

GROUNDED OPPONENTS

This could end up having a massive impact on the sport as fighters will be allowed to use certain kicking and kneeing techniques in positions where previously they would’ve been deemed an illegal strike. 

Previously, the rule was defined as: "Any part of the body, other than the 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)."

Three or four points of contact will become irrelevant if those points of contact are exclusively feet and hands. Fighters will be considered grounded only if a knee or elbow is contacting the canvas.

Fans can refer to a notable incident from a UFC 297 featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev from January as an example to draw from.

Allen landed a knee to Evloev’s head when Evloev had two feet plus one hand (really, it was just his fingers) touching the mat at UFC 297, which, according to the soon-to-be-defunct rule, rendered him a grounded fighter.

Since the knee was illegal, the referee correctly halted the action and Evloev was granted time to recover, which impacted how the remainder of the fight unfolded.

Under the new rules, Evloev’s position — one that some fighters strategically use to avoid being kneed or kicked in the head — will not be considered grounded, starting at UFC Edmonton.

There are 14 fights scheduled for the Edmonton card, which means there will be 28 fighters allowed to take advantage of the update rule set.