ABC changes eye poke, neoprene sleeve rules for MMA
The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) on Wednesday passed two changes to the unified rules of MMA.
The ABC’s annual conference takes place annually at a different location around the country with many heads and representatives of commissioning bodies from around the country and beyond in attendance. This year’s conference is in Niagara Falls, N.Y.,
Led by association president Mike Mazzulli, the conference takes place over the course of five days. The first two days consist of refereeing and judging courses led by certified instructors Kevin MacDonald, Blake Grice, and Sal D’Amato. The three days after are spent discussing prevalent issues in MMA and listening to guest speakers.
Topics such as weight cutting, fighter safety, open scoring, transgender athletes and TUE exemptions were discussed at this year’s conference. Guest speakers included a host of medical professionals, as well as former UFC fighters Din Thomas and Jake Ellenberger.
Wednesday marked the final day for the 2022 ABC Conference with the most outright consequential impacts: rules voting. Two MMA rules were up for vote and passed unanimously.
Rule change 1: Fighters get five minutes to recover after eye pokes – PASSED
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 02: Pedro Munhoz of Brazil reacts after an unintentional eye poke from Sean O’Malley in their bantamweight bout during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena on July 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was ruled a no contest. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Eye pokes and groin shots are commonplace fouls in MMA competition.
For groin strikes, an athlete is automatically allowed five minutes to recover. The action can resume at his discretion, as long as the timeout clock has not struck five minutes.
For eye pokes, that was not the case prior to the 2022 ABC Conference. By the rulebook, a fighter was not granted time to recover. Officials could call timeout, warn the fighter who threw the foul, and ensure the fighter who was poked did not sustain fight-ending damage.
After the amendment of the rule’s language, an eye poke will result in an automatic five-minute timeout allowance if the fighter wants it. If the clock expires and the fighter is unable to continue, the bout will be called off – the same as a groin strike foul.
Rule change 2: Neoprene sleeves are allowed to be worn by competitors – PASSED
Jan 22, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Francis Ngannou (red gloves) competes against Ciryl Gane (blue gloves) during UFC 270 at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
While neoprene sleeves were often at the discretion of commissioning bodies, now they will be universally accepted by ABC jurisdictions.
Read the full rule below:
“A competitor may use soft neoprene-type sleeves to cover only the knee or ankle joints. Approved sleeves may not have padding, velcro, plastic, metal, ties, or any materials considered to be unsafe or that may create an unfair advantage. Neoprene sleeves are not considered equipment or clothing and may not be grabbed advantageously inside or as clothing can be grabbed by self. Tape and gauze or any materials other than the approved sleeves are not permitted on the lower body. The sleeves must be black in color with the exception of matching the athletes commission-assigned corners with the sleeves being blue or red or colored as appropriate.”
2022 ABC Conference Video
Check out video replay of the three days of the 2022 ABC Conference discussions and votes, streamed by Joe Leonard.
Day 1 (Temporarily unavailable): Committee updates, record-keeping, Din Thomas, open scoring, more
Day 2: Weight cutting, deaths, USADA, Jake Ellenberger, more
Day 3: Votes, “Uncomfortable questions,” bare-knuckle, more
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