Elbows to a downed opponent's head, statistics

[magicman531]

Originally Posted by Vox

49 Randy Couture Vitor Belfort TKO (Doctor Stoppage) (accidental headbutt)

Headbutt? I thought it was from Vitor's glancing punch when his glove nicked Randy's eyeball.

[lyoung]

nice! if you can research about soccer kicks and knees it would be cool

[chickenthigh69]

Originally Posted by kaipo13

Elbows should be kept in, but knees, soccer kicks and foot stomps to a downed opponent should also be allowed IMO.

that's what i'm sayin

[mondoja]

they need to go back to old school rules NO RULES just dont hit the family jewels. Fight like a man!

















NO ONE CARES WHO YOUR FAVORITE FIGHTERS ARE.

[smead]

option 1: IF the goal is for MMA to be exciting, then allow elbows, knees, stomps, and soccer kicks.

option 2: IF the goal is for MMA to be mainstream, then outlaw elbows, knees, stomps, and soccer kicks. Essentially, it wouldn't be MMA - it would be boxing + grappling/wrestling (similar to the sambo competitions that Fedor participates in)

Option 2 of course would be more palatable to the general public. But sports that are palatable to the general public do not necessarily equate to economic success (e.g. hockey, tennis, etc.)

I for one believe the current unified rules are fine. I'd like to see soccer kicks re-added because I don't feel they endanger the lives of the fighters. Stomps are illegal and they should be! Can you imagine a 200lb guy trying to stomp on your face but accidentally hitting your throat... very painful death.

[c0dyc0]

This whole cut debate would not be an issue if they just allowed corners to pour super glue into the cuts.

[Stoppie]

The cuts aren't the problem, elbows limit the groundgame and makes fighters lazy. That's the problem. You know what happends, stay in guard, throw some elbows, stay in guard and throw some more elbows, when the opponent gets hurt pass guard and finish. Thats boring.

[Stoppie]

Originally Posted by smead

I'd like to see soccer kicks re-added because I don't feel they endanger the lives of the fighters. Stomps are illegal and they should be! Can you imagine a 200lb guy trying to stomp on your face but accidentally hitting your throat... very painful death.

Soccerkicks should stay banned. Why? Elbows/strikes/knees to the back of the head are all illegal. Take a look at some fights where soccerkicks are used, a big amount of the kicks end up on the back of the head.

[lynchhung]

Originally Posted by 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.

Great post.

[zgnero]

Originally Posted by MethadoneMan

Not all elbows stop fights, but they cause cuts that can hurt a fighters chance of winning.

So does punching and guy on the head and busting him open. Should we ban punching too?