- Joined
- Jun 18, 2007
- Messages
- 23,584
- Reaction score
- 7,437
Firstly let me say that Yan's knee was 100% illegal under the current rules and Sterling had no reason to expect it. That being said, that knee from Yan should be legal 100%.
The grounded opponent rule was created to protect fighters from having their heads smashed against the canvas by knees/stomps ala Mark Coleman vs. Igor Vovchanchyn or Kevin Randleman vs. Kenichi Yamamoto, not to protect them from getting struck in a crouching position. The definition of grounded needs to be changed to refer only to fighters who are on their backs or in a turtle position. Its an outdated rule that does nothing for safety and just limits fighters tools.
The grounded opponent rule was created to protect fighters from having their heads smashed against the canvas by knees/stomps ala Mark Coleman vs. Igor Vovchanchyn or Kevin Randleman vs. Kenichi Yamamoto, not to protect them from getting struck in a crouching position. The definition of grounded needs to be changed to refer only to fighters who are on their backs or in a turtle position. Its an outdated rule that does nothing for safety and just limits fighters tools.