New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland and South Dakota are among the states that will not adopt the new rules in full, per data collected by the ABC obtained by MMA Fighting. Texas will not vote on the rules until March. Nevada will “possibly” vote on the rules changes in January, according to executive director Bob Bennett.
The ABC does not have a federal mandate and cannot enforce commissions to change any rules. Each state has its own legislature and commissioners and act autonomously.
The concern among some regulators lies, for the most part, with two particular rules changes: the alteration of the definition of a grounded fighter and the removal of a foul for heel kicks to the kidneys.
Currently, a grounded fighter is considered a competitor who has a part of the body on the ground other than the soles of his or her feet. The change will make it so a fighter can no longer just put a finger or a hand down to be considered grounded. Instead, the athlete must put both palms or both fists on the floor for that distinction.
Heel kicks to the kidney have been a foul since the advent of the sport’s regulation, but every other kind of strike to the kidney is legal in MMA.
Other rules included in the package that were passed at the ABC Conference included a change to hopefully decrease eye pokes, the removal of a foul for grabbing the clavicle, a clarification of the MMA judging criteria, and codifying requirements for female in-cage apparel. The package was passed at the conference in August by a 42-1 vote with two abstentions.
The lone dissenter at the conference was New Jersey. New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) deputy attorney general Nick Lembo wrote a letter vehemently disagreeing with those two particular rules changes that was read at the conference by NJSACB deputy commissioner Rhonda Uttley-Herring. Ohio, Missouri, Maryland, Virginia and some other commissions did not attend the annual conference.
Lembo told MMA Fighting that he does not feel like there are legitimate medical reasons to potentially add more strikes to the head and kidneys. Lembo said he has yet to get anything in writing from anyone from the Association of Ringside Physicians (ARP) or ABC medical committee supporting the changes and New Jersey doctors are not in favor of them.
“You have every other sport becoming more conservative about strikes to the head,” Lembo said. “Instead, we’re going the other way.”
Lembo said New Jersey will adopt the other changes, but not the two that concern them from a safety standpoint.
“Why would you want to open the door for even more potential head strikes?” Profato said. “And there’s no medical reason for it.”
Maryland State Athletic Commission (MSAC) executive director Patrick Pannella said in a statement that the rules package was opposed by his commission, 5-0.
“We maintain that such rule changes should not be considered until, and unless, credible and accepted medical studies have been conducted which would confirm that these respective rule changes would not adversely affect the health and safety of competing MMA contestants,” the statement read.
The Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) is still reviewing the new rules, particularly the scrutinized grounded fighter and heel kicks to the kidney provisions, director of operations Cristiano Sampaio told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. CABMMA is not a voting member of the ABC, but uses the Unified Rules of MMA for its bouts. Sampaio was present at the ABC Conference in August.
