Elbow Pads?

Bas Rutten talks about this a lot, and it has to do with Pride vs. UFC rules. Basically, Pride had it right, in that they allowed more varied strikes (on the ground especially), because in my view the point of MMA is to closely approximate a real fight as is legal. However, they did not allow elbow strikes, which was a mistake ... maybe.

Bas would say that eliminating elbow strikes (so key to the ground and pound strategy) encourages more submission attempts and better grappling all around. This was bigger for Japanese fans I think, but your average American fan doesn't appreciate the grappling as much. Also, you don't end up stopping fights due to cuts, and there were far fewer gory, bloody battles (Big Daddy anyone?) in Pride.

I think elbows should be allowed, but I wonder if there is a way to pad them somehow, like knuckles, not to protect the elbows (like knuckle pads) but to prevent quick, nasty cuts from the sharp point of the elbow that turns the cage into a bucket of guts.

What do you think?

 

Elbow pads suck, sanctioning organizations that use modified Muay Thai rules (like Ontario's CAMTAO) mandate elbow pads as a requirement for matches which permit elbow strikes.

Elbow pads hardly ever stay in place, even ones with a hook & loop closure system. This usually leads in frequent pauses in the middle of a round where the referee must readjust a combatant's elbow pad.