If we could change every UFC or MMA rule for the better

Written by: Scott Beers
Feb 28, 2016, 7:00 p.m.
Tweet to: @SkottBeers

Eye pokes? Fix the fucking gloves, already

Pride FC used blue gloves that had a bit of an arch in the knuckles to prevent the fingers from stiffening. They weren’t ideal, but far superior compared to what the UFC uses today. A step up from that would be the prototype “Cloven” gloves, or something similar. Say good bye to eye pokes. What disadvantages do these gloves have? I don’t know, but they should at least be tested at an amatuer level.

THE CAGE!

No wonder John McCain thought this was human cock-fighting years ago. You’re putting people in a cage to battle. It doesn’t have to be that way. It provides a rather poor view for the audience; which is why a ring was used for so long. The ropes of a ring, on the other hand, made it even worse.

The possible solution? Even thicker Pro Hockey level plexiglass. It can be circular or an octagon to preserve the UFC ring name. Optimal view, no more cage grabs, and no more broken toes getting stuck in the cage. Sweat or blood stains? No problem, use the same clean up crew to clean and dry it off between rounds. My main concern would be, would it break eventually? Depending on that glass it might, but it would be extremely rare. Like hockey, there is always an immediate crew on hand in case such an event occurs.

Rounds and time limits?

Legally, boxing allows up to 36 minutes of combat in one night excluding the breaks. So why is MMA limited at 25? Throw that out the window. If we’re going to use rounds at all, a championship fight should be three 10-minute rounds plus one five-minute overtime in case of a draw or split decision (presuming we’re using the same judging criteria). Non-title bouts would be one 10-minute round followed by one five-minute round.

Judging? This isn’t boxing, Grandpa.

If I said throwing the football from the 30 yard line through the field goal was three points, would people be okay with that? No, because football isn’t basketball. And boxing isn’t the same as MMA. The 10 point must system is older than my dead grandfather. MMA is supposed to be about destroying, not out-pointing and defending. Rather score the fight as a whole or change the criteria to: damage (effective striking, they now call it) > threatening submissions > dominant positions > and ultimately, who should win if this fight if it was to last forever. Scoring defense is currently not part of the criteria, so I don’t know why it is sometimes observed that way in MMA. Score the fight as a whole and give more incentive to finish the fight aside from a random 50k bonus.

Illegal strikes?

Groin shots, head butts, and possibly even strikes to the spinal cord, I can understand, should be against the rules. Aside from that, anything should go. 12-6 elbows are fine. Knees or kicks to the head of a downed opponent are part of the battle, and should be. How many times have you seen a guy purposefully put one hand on the mat just to avoid getting kneed in the head? It’s ridiculous and people are using the rules to make the fights less exciting. Lest we forget Joe Son vs. Keith Hackney UFC 4…