The little rule change/paradigm shift that could radically change MMA

[Killhippies]

Guard should be scored as a neutral position. Only side, full and back should count for 'control'.

Bring back yellow cards.

Removed the downed opponent rule.

 

[Killhippies]

10 minute 1st round would also help immensely. Too many fights I've seen where momentum is killed that ended in rounds with finishing positions.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Knees to downed opponent.

Yeah I mean you barely see guys go to side control these days, they usually sit in half as they can control them better. But if knees to a downed opponent became legal side control would be used again.

 

[dog y]

Dennis Hallman, true pioneer. True champ.

You have to fight with your donger out

 

[don't ask]

I think it's Hunter Michael Biden-Chandler. Or maybe that's his maiden name.

lol I get the joke now. I shouldn't post when my brain is turned off.

 

[JakePaulMMA]

You have to fight with your donger out

Dennis Hallman.

Never Forget™

 

[dwightschrute111]

When facing an eastern european blanket, soil yourself, they will have no choice but to separate and keep the fight standing

 

[Oscar Madison]

Guard should be scored as a neutral position. Only side, full and back should count for 'control'.

Bring back yellow cards.

Removed the downed opponent rule.

I like where you're heading.

Preferred Rules

Control shouldn't be a factor -- cage or ground -- as in SHOULD NOT be a factor for scoring.

Either be actively beating your opponent with legal strikes or fight ending submissions.

Criteria: KO, TKO, Subs, Damage from legal cage violence. Then consider Legal Strikes for points -- and then maybe Fight-ending Submission attempts depending on quality. That's your scoring.

Draws for lack of determinative fight ending action by both fighters. Sanction inactive or nonviolent fighters 10% of their purse. Give fighters a warning of the sanction going into the final round -- let them sort it out.

Lay and Pray, Wall and Stall, Control -- No Points -- they just confuse Judges who struggle to discern a Winner with these baseless factors.

People pay to see other people fight to end a fight -- this isn't a hard concept.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Headbutts.

Have headbutts change the outcome of fights when they were allowed?

 

[TheTickG]

Have headbutts change the outcome of fights when they were allowed?

Mark Coleman would have probably won either way. But, Coleman vs. Brian Johnston would be an example of how headbutts would help a wrestler.

Wanderlei Silva would be an example of a striker that was able to use it when it was legal and used it a bit when it was illegal too.

 

[WhiteMousse]

Eliminate the rules that clearly and blatantly work to the advantages of wrestlers.

Also give a bigger purse for the winner by KO. Reduce that bonus for every round that goes by. You're going to see some crazy stuff

 

[GrantB13]

Not rewarding dudes like Merab for lay'n' pray and repeated takedowns with no threat of submission or GnP whatsoever. If they get no points or even points taken off for doing nothing but "controlling"--I guarantee that would change the sport.

Get rid of decisions, at least for title fights.

You and everyone else might not enjoy watching threatless takedown artists, but you can't possibly claim the guy who was controlled and rendered ineffective in the fight to have won.

 

[Hairrow]

You and everyone else might not enjoy watching threatless takedown artists, but you can't possibly claim the guy who was controlled and rendered ineffective in the fight to have won.

Never said I would make that claim.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

10 minute 1st round would also help immensely. Too many fights I've seen where momentum is killed that ended in rounds with finishing positions.

It does provide that bit more of a cardio test as well.

 

[GrantB13]

Never said I would make that claim.

Not sure what else could be done though. Aside from not rewading the round for two minutes of control despite getting hurt or handily outstruck.

 

[Hairrow]

Not sure what else could be done though. Aside from not rewading the round for two minutes of control despite getting hurt or handily outstruck.

If neither gets rewarded for laying on the ground with rabbit punches (from the top or bottom) without doing much of anything else— it might discourage the tactic, although takedowns would still be rewarded, unfortunately.
I think it’s no bueno that under our current system the takedown-lay’n’pray rinse and repeat approach is rewarded and is pretty effective in the right scenarios.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Not rewarding dudes like Merab for lay'n' pray and repeated takedowns with no threat of submission or GnP whatsoever. If they get no points or even points taken off for doing nothing but "controlling"--I guarantee that would change the sport.

Get rid of decisions, at least for title fights.

That's a terrible idea. Just allow knees to the head on the ground and guys like Merab that don't hit hard have a new tool that can help them get finishes.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

I would say yes and no. If they had a choice between signing a striker or a grappler, they would probably sign the striker if all else was even. I don't think in the bigger picture that matters all that much though. The reason strikers are winning is because they are better than the grapplers they are fighting. Yes, there were once grapplers that would beat most of the HWs now, but that is not because the UFC is secretly hiding a bunch of HW grapplers- it's because the ones that do exist don't want to fight MMA right now; same with LHW. You can bet that if a world champ BJJ or Olympic wrestler were available, the UFC would jump all over it.

The UFC chose not to re-sign Shields, Fitch, Davis, Bader and Anderson when all were in the top 10. They have obviously chosen not to sign grappling heavy fighters unless their contracts are very cheap.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Guard should be scored as a neutral position. Only side, full and back should count for 'control'.

Bring back yellow cards.

Removed the downed opponent rule.

Guard isn't a neutral position in MMA, strikes from the top generate more force.

 

[joy2day]

The UFC chose not to re-sign Shields, Fitch, Davis, Bader and Anderson when all were in the top 10. They have obviously chosen not to sign grappling heavy fighters unless their contracts are very cheap.

That's overstating the case, but yes, it wouldn't be surprising that they would unload especially slow and plodding grapplers like those on your list, although I don't know why you have Anderson there (those also were from another era of the UFC commercially). Basically, the UFC doesn't resign anyone who's contract isn't cheap. Fighters who move the needle or make exciting fights are going to be privileged to some degree; but that isn't strictly grappler vs striker. That is business. Some would say GSPs fights were too much slow grappling, yet Dana paid him big money fairly early on in his title defenses (this was revealed later by GSP); that is because GSP was a needle mover. Dana made it very clear GSP was the king of PPVs in his day; Lesner was second, another grappler.