Issue 113

April 2014

Why understanding the Unified Rules of MMA should be a prerequisite of participation – both inside and outside the ring or cage

MARC GODDARD

Each issue Europe’s leading referee brings fight fans the ref’s side of the story

It is almost 14 years since the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts first took shape, and today the bedrock of our sport is practiced in rings and cages the world over. And yet never a week goes by when I don’t have to explain the rules of MMA to people who actually make a living in the industry.

You’d be surprised – no really, you would – at the variety and often jaw-dropping, mind-numbing and sometimes downright dangerous interpretations of the rules I have encountered, heard and been forced to endure during my travels worldwide.

It really is a fact that many fighters lay it all on the line, and coaches send their prime assets into battle, in a sport where even they don’t fully understand the rules under which they are competing.

Is it their job to? Some may argue no – but can you think of any other sport where its participants really don’t fully understand the rules of the game? And, may I point out that I refer not just to the lower levels of the sport, i.e. grassroots amateur participants. I am also talking about full-time professionals competing on the biggest stages in the sport. 

Many times after making a particular call I am greeted with a disbelieving screech from a disgruntled, but misinformed, coach or corner man. I cannot simply halt the action then and there to deal with his enquiry. Instead, I take subliminal notes of his disapproval to hopefully rectify his misunderstanding and educate him (and I use this term in its most respectful but factual sense here) once the bout has ended.  

I’ve had so many high-profile cases of mid-action technique being used by a particular fighter, only for the opposing coach to literally scream at me that he is ‘doing that’ or ‘doing this’ only for me – of course, depending on the action and pace – to turn to them while offering an open-handed, palm-up shrug of the shoulders, and visibly gesturing, ‘Yes, you didn’t know that is legal?’ 

Indeed, I can point to many post-fight discussions where I have explained in detail a rule, sometimes to a particular person’s blushes and apologies, but nothing fills me more with a greater sense of achievement and pride.

I see it as my role, duty and given responsibility to help educate and eradicate ignorance within mixed martial arts.

In the formative years of my career, my battles to right the wrongs of the detractors came in the form of explaining to the uninitiated that cage fighting was a martial art and not the human cock-fighting some thought it to be. 

But in more recent years most of my time as an educator has been taken up by explaining the Unified Rules (and how they are applied during a bout) to all directly involved in the sport – not just fighters. And this I have done through my Mixed Martial Arts Referee & Judge Seminars that I have held right across Europe, and which have been very well received and warmly welcomed.

MMA officials often come under heavy fire, and rightly so at times. While it is both unrealistic and impractical to expect every fan to know verbatim every single rule and regulation of their preferred sport, it is a reachable and attainable goal for all those directly involved, including fighters, coaches, seconds, commentators and promoters, to understand the rules of the sport they call their own.

This should not be an unreachable fantasy – more of a minimum requirement. MMA is as complex and multi-faceted as any sport and, like in every aspect of life, knowledge is power. So if you’re competing, coaching, managing or simply a fan of MMA then surely a comprehensive understanding of the Unified Rules should be a prerequisite of participation.