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Wheelock already has some ideas about what he'll discuss with the committee coming up, beginning with the abolition of the ban on 12-to-6 elbows in fights. The rules committee unanimously voted to recommend that foul be removed from MMA's Unified Rules this year, but the removal was struck down by the ABC medical committee.
There just wasn't enough support for it this year, so Wheelock said he will propose the start of a pilot program in late 2016 into 2017. His plan includes asking five to six commissions to remove the 12-to-6 elbow ban temporarily and collect data on its usage. The rules committee will then present that data to the medical committee before next year's ABC Conference.
"First, let's see if it's even being thrown," Wheelock said. "Then let's see if any fights are being finished by it, if we're seeing lacerations, if we're seeing concussions. Empirical evidence."
The rules committee had success doing something like that this year, testing out proposed rules changes at multiple MMA events with willing commissions. Of course, Wheelock said, a promoter will have to be OK with his or her event being a kind of guinea pig. But the former Bellator play-by-play man and current Kansas commissioner is adamant that the 12-to-6 elbows foul should be scrapped, especially since all other elbow strikes are legal.
"To me, it has nothing to do with safety," Wheelock said. "If this were the old PRIDE rules and there were no elbows to the head of a grounded opponent and we're arguing for [12-to-6 elbows], that's a tough battle. But if we're allowing diagonal elbows and downward elbows and upward elbows and side elbows and forearm smashes, that personally doesn't make any sense to me."
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/4...to-discuss-12-to-6-elbows-instant-replay-next
There just wasn't enough support for it this year, so Wheelock said he will propose the start of a pilot program in late 2016 into 2017. His plan includes asking five to six commissions to remove the 12-to-6 elbow ban temporarily and collect data on its usage. The rules committee will then present that data to the medical committee before next year's ABC Conference.
"First, let's see if it's even being thrown," Wheelock said. "Then let's see if any fights are being finished by it, if we're seeing lacerations, if we're seeing concussions. Empirical evidence."
The rules committee had success doing something like that this year, testing out proposed rules changes at multiple MMA events with willing commissions. Of course, Wheelock said, a promoter will have to be OK with his or her event being a kind of guinea pig. But the former Bellator play-by-play man and current Kansas commissioner is adamant that the 12-to-6 elbows foul should be scrapped, especially since all other elbow strikes are legal.
"To me, it has nothing to do with safety," Wheelock said. "If this were the old PRIDE rules and there were no elbows to the head of a grounded opponent and we're arguing for [12-to-6 elbows], that's a tough battle. But if we're allowing diagonal elbows and downward elbows and upward elbows and side elbows and forearm smashes, that personally doesn't make any sense to me."
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/4...to-discuss-12-to-6-elbows-instant-replay-next
