What’s the story?
The UFC has approved and made changes to three new rules effective immediately from 2017. UFC Fight Night 103 Rodriguez vs Penn, at Phoenix, was the first event where the new rule changes were implemented.
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The heart of the matter
The UFC made new rules, three to be exact with the first being, a single hand on the mat is now considered to be a standing fighter. The second rule change will implicate fighters who extend their fingers out of their gloves, towards their opponent’s face while assessing range and distance, will be grounds for a foul call and a possible point deduction.
The third rule change sees a tweak in the striking department from a bottom position, as it will now be legal for fighters to hell kick the kidney from a bottom position on the mat.
What’s next?
It will be interesting to see whether the UFC will change rules further in the future, to make fights more engaging. In a transitional phase, with new owners and a setup the UFC has been constantly changing, fans and fighters could expect more rule changes from the UFC.
Sportskeeda’s take
With the increase in incidents of eye gouging over the past few years, the new rule surrounding the issue comes into the game with the intent of minimising risk and confusion. However, the rule change could affect fighters who rely on the technique to judge range.
The kicks from the bottom to the kidney have been approved to possibly give a fighter who finds himself in that position a chance to fight back. All in all, interesting rule changes from the UFC.
