What is the rule on broken/dislocated limbs? How come sometimes they let you fight and sometimes no?

[Sean_wongster_wongmastter]

What is the rule on broken limbs/dislocated limbs?

McGregor's fight wasn't stopped until the bell rang after he broke his leg.
Sean O Malley continued 2 fights after an injury in what appears his foot was broken or fractured.
Zombie was allowed to keep fighting Aldo with a dislocated shoulder, and so was TJ Dillashaw (Brandon Royal had his shoulder popped back in between rounds).

Tim Silivia had his fight stopped on what looked like a broken arm (and turned out to be one), Tim Silvia had wanted to continue to fight too, tried to hide that it was broken.
Jon Jones had his elbow pop against Vitor but was allowed to keep going.
Would Jon Jones have had his fight stopped against Chael due to his broken toe if he couldn't finish him?
Weidman, and Silva had their fights stopped instantly on the broken leg.
Jamal Hill continued fighting Paul Craig for a while with his broken arm tangling and splashing around as he was locked in a triangle.

Anyone know what is the official rule on dislocated/broken limbs and stopping a fight?

 

[johny ringo]

Stopped only moments before the bone is pushed through the skin. It’s really hard to judge that exact moment.

 

[Crazy Librarian]

I think it's left to the discretion of the ref. Should the ref feel the fighter can no longer defend themself, he may stop the fight.

 

[Karelinator]

Silva and Weidman collapsed instantly in horrible pain.

Hill kept on moving and fighting for a while.

Jones kept on fighting really well.

So it really just depends on how hurt you really look.

I think that's the only real "rule".

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

Copied from the official unified rules:
a. Submission by:
i. Tap Out: When a contestant physically uses of their body to indicate that he or she no longer wishes to continue; or
ii. Verbal Tap Out: When a contestant verbally announces or voluntarily/involuntarily screams in pain or distress to the referee that they do not wish to continue;
iii. Technical Submission: When a legal submission act results in unconsciousness or broken/dislocated bone(s)/joint(s).

b. Technical Knockout (TKO) by:
i. Referee Stoppage: the referee stops the contest because the combatant IS NOT INTELLIGENTLY DEFENDING HIMSELF/HERSELF;
1. Strikes
2. Laceration
3. Corner Stoppage
4. Did Not Answer the Bell
ii. TKO due to Medical Stoppage;
1. Laceration
2. Doctor Stoppage
3. Loss of control of bodily function.

The last one is up for debate I guess, but a-iii. seems to suggest that a fighter that breaks or dislocates something with a submission attempt, will get a stoppage and a technical submission win.
Of course the ref has to see this to make a decision based on it.

 

[DelanoRunnymede]

Remember when Travis Browne called time out when his finger dislocated against Werdum. That was a bit of a mess, and the ref didn’t really know what to do.

 

[13Seconds]

Great answers so far. It seals the thread.

Good question OP. Sometimes i wonder too.

 

[Kryptt]

Dude in um CFFC if I recall wanted to fight after his finger fell off (was ripped off in glove grab grappling). He tucked it into his glove and tried to continue the next round hoping no one would see.

 

[GrantB13]

I'm sure the ref has to realize instantly what's happening which isn't always easy to do. Did anyone know what happened to Conor in the moment? Nobody knew what happened to Jones until Rogan spotted it AFTER the fight. Silva and Weidman obviously had something terrible happen and they completely stopped fighting. Sylvia was stopped because Herb Dean saw what happened. Often times we as fans talk with knowledge of hindsight.

 

[Joshuaace]

Dude in um CFFC if I recall wanted to fight after his finger fell off (was ripped off in glove grab grappling). He tucked it into his glove and tried to continue the next round hoping no one would see.

He didn't intentionally tuck the severed digit in his glove. They literally made a pa announcement to search for the finger before ultimately finding it in his glove.

 

[Kryptt]

He didn't intentionally tuck the severed digit in his glove. They literally made a pa announcement to search for the finger before ultimately finding it in his glove.

Hmms could have sworn he said he tried to hide it but can't find a reference. Just that he wanted to continue and how he believed it happened.

Anyhow it ranks up there with thee most bizarre moments to stop a fight.



Edit: Ah I must have misconstrued this:

“The finger didn’t completely sever,” Patterson continued. “There’s a lot of different speculation out there, people saying, ‘Oh, he lost his finger.’ The finger was hanging by a thread, hanging by the skin, but it was lodged inside the glove. At that point he finished the round, came back, and didn’t say anything. He kept at it, tried to hide it, that’s when the doctors noticed it and had to stop it.”

He tried to hide the injury not the finger.

 

[Joshuaace]

Hmms could have sworn he said he tried to hide it but can't find a reference. Just that he wanted to continue and how he believed it happened.

Anyhow it ranks up there with thee most bizarre moments to stop a fight.

No denying that he absolutely wanted to continue. I think it was Morgan that interviewed him from the Hospital. Was more concerned about the stoppage than the finger.

WILD SHIT!

The tweet I remember was Raimondi not Morgan.

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

Interesting stuff. I wasn't aware either.
It appears that submission attempts that lead to a dislocation or fracture will be stopped immediately.
But a broken forearm from a blocked kick for example doesn't have to be stopped, even if visible, as long as the fighter is still in control of his arm, which I guess technically one would usually still be with a broken forearm.

 

[2004 account]

The letter C in ufc never stood for consistency

 

[Chet Ubetcha]

Most of those were immediately apparent what happened. IIRC, Jones didn't even realize how bad it was until after the fight. Had the ref noticed the bone sticking out through the skin, it would have absolutely been stopped -- it was discussed ad nauseam after the fight. It took a moment for everyone to realize what happened with Conor, and it was immediately stopped as soon as the injury showed itself. Sylvia's case has been answered above -- it was immediately apparent that the bone broke.

The one that still makes me wonder is KZ against Aldo. I thought that fight should have been stopped at the time, because as much as I wanted Zombie to do well, it was apparent he was unable to fight on effectively. There wasn't even a puncher's chance left for him. IIRC, that was Mazagatti, so I guess that explains that...

The official's first job is to ensure the safety of the fighters, not give them the choice whether to fight through an injury or not -- because 99% of the time the fighter is going to beg to let them go on due to adrenalin and pride.

 

[pick999]

Herb is known to take under the table money

 

[Better Every Day]

How about when the referee ended the fight, against Leslie Smith's wishes, just because her ear was coming apart?
No broken bones or dislocated limbs there. Blood wasn't getting into her eyes, impairing her vision. What rule covered that?

 

[TJH Exitium]

Well... pretty obviously.... in all of your examples where the fight wasn't immediately stopped, it wasn't immediately obvious to the ref that there was a horrific injury until the action paused and they were able to assess what was going on. And in the examples where it WAS immediately stopped, it's because the injury was very obvious right away...

McGregor fell and Porier immediately swarmed on him... the ref saw Conor fall but didn't know Conor's leg was broken until after thebell rang...
Sean O'Malley did not have a broken or fractured foot... and other than limping gave no sign of wanting to stop fighting
Dislocated shoulders are also not always obvious whats going on... unless the fighter actually stops fighting and indicates their arm is messed up.. the ref has no idea other than 'he looks to be in pain'
Herb Dean was staring right at Tim Sylvia's arm and saw it break.. so that was obvious..
Nobody would have had a clue how bad Jones' arm was against Vitor because he didn't act hurt or show any signs of injury in any way..
Yes Jones/Sonnen would have been stopped if the ref noticed his broken toe between rounds.
Weidman, and Silva had their fights stopped instantly because they dropped screaming in pain and it was immediately obvious what had happened... even their opponents saw it and stopped fighting....
Jamal Hill/Paul Craig they were flopping around on the ground so it was hard to see what was going on until the action stopped.


It's the ref's job to stop the fight if they believe a fighter has an injury that risks serious or permanent injury. If the fighter is still trying to fight, it's not always obvious...
They can't telepathically know there is an injury right away, they have to see what's going on... either see the injury or see that the fighter is trying to stop fighting...



PS - Dillishaw trying to continue fighting with a dislocated shoulder is just fuckin' crazy, but he was actively fighting and staying in front of his opponent so the ref wouldn't stop it.
If he had said to the ref at any point "My shoulder got dislocated in training and keeps popping back out" the ref would have been obligated to stop the fight.

 

[TJH Exitium]

How about when the referee ended the fight, against Leslie Smith's wishes, just because her ear was coming apart?
No broken bones or dislocated limbs there. Blood wasn't getting into her eyes, impairing her vision. What rule covered that?

Danger of her ear being literally ripped off. Potential for serious long-term injury

 

[Hypetrainofthemonth]

Dude in um CFFC if I recall wanted to fight after his finger fell off (was ripped off in glove grab grappling). He tucked it into his glove and tried to continue the next round hoping no one would see.

Holy shit, that's a JBG if I've ever heard of one, anyone have gif/video of it?