[cpdtpa]

I agree with your statistics and I don't buy into the arguement that fight-stopping cuts justify the elimination of elbows. However, in my opinion you have to look at the bigger picture:

1st, elbows cause a larger number of non-fight ending cuts that take a toll on the fighters over a longer period of time. You can argue that they can just as easily get cut from a punch, so I would be curious to know if anyone has any statistics on this.

2nd, and I think more important, do elbows encourage stalling? From a fans perspective, is it more exiting to watch a fighter who stays in someone's guard and throws elbows, or someone who has to raise up and create space to punch, thus giving the guy on the bottom a chance to defend or slap on a submission more easily. Personally, I like seeing fighters raise up and throw bombs and either knock the guy out or get caught in a submission on the way down.

3rd, and possibly the most important, does eliminating elbow water down the sport? In principlal, I think that MMA should have as few rules as possible, while protecting fighters from long-term injuries. In principle, I still believe that the ref and commissions, need to stay out of it and let the fighters use whatever tools they can to win the fight. The more rules, the more it deviates from true hand-to-hand combat.

Although, part of me would really like to see elbows go for the first two reasons, I still think they should just let them fight and use whatever means necessary to win.