Issue 085

February 2012

Touching the fence can be a sensitive subject inside the Octagon… here’s the lowdown on all cage contact

Each issue UFC referee Marc Goddard brings fight fans the ref’s side of the story.

The final round in the final fight of the final World Extreme Cagefighting event. Anthony Pettis’ Matrix kick against Ben Henderson will forever go down in history. The kick, the technique and its execution were all perfectly legal, but many people ask what is actually allowed when it comes to using the cage in a fight. Within the unified rules we all know that grabbing the fence is a listed foul, and this applies to both hands and feet. As long as the digits – fingers and toes do not go through the fence to allow an unfair advantage of grip to aid or prevent a reversal or turn around then we are good to go.

Hands and feet must be kept open and flat and using the cage walls as a surface for stability, leverage or assistance is perfectly acceptable within the Unified Rules of MMA. The use of the toes is not one clearly understood or defined. Think of a fighter on his back close to the fence, he starts to ‘wall walk’ using the cage looking for a push-off to aid his reversal attempt – if during the transition he uses his toes to grip through the fence to aid his leverage or prevent his opponent placing him back flat on the mat then this is a foul and should be addressed and treated in exactly the same vein as if it were the fingers of a hand looking for the same unfair advantage. This takes a keen eye from an experienced official as fighters in this position most prominently draw the attention of the referee to the business end of the action – the hands, torso and head of the engaging fighters.

Using the cage as an aid for stability – for example to assist a grounded fighter in getting back to his feet again are all perfectly legal and within the rules as long as any open or wayward hand does not use the fingers to aid fighter looking to get back to their feet. Shoulder walking, again with the same notion of getting back to the feet along with pushing off the cage in any and all situations is well within the confines of the rules – including the previously mentioned spectacular Pettis flying kick. Leaving the fighting area or trying to force an opponent out of the fighting area, think Tank Abbott versus Carl Worsham, of course again are listed fouls under the unified rules.

The use of the cage as an unfair advantage as described above, very commonly seen as fence grabbing in aiding or preventing a takedown would be classed as a minor violation. A referee will of course take mental notes of the combatant who is committing the foul and call out to the offending fighter warning him of his actions. If the foul is repeated then the referee should act upon the fighter who is not adhering to any warning – stop the action at a suitable time and administer a point deduction as necessary. Persistent or continued action of the foul from a fighter would and should result in further point deductions and, in extreme cases, continued warnings for the same foul or repeated minor violations that a fighter may be committing or failing to act correctly upon would result in disqualification. Fortunately in all my time in MMA and the many thousands of fights that I have taken charge of I have never had to disqualify a fighter for continued and flagrant disregard of repeated warnings for minor infringements – and it would be a very sad occurrence if this indeed did result in the end to any contest.

Q&A

“Hi guy’s I’ve tried asking others but came up with nothing. You are the most experienced group around so I thought I would try here. I had a fight a week ago and it started well, I caught my opponent with two leg kicks and an overhand right – he fell to the floor and as I went in he grabbed his leg and screamed. The ref then got in the way and his corner came in saying he popped his knee? They all talked and came back to me and my corner saying it was a no contest, leaving me without a win. I want to ask if this is the right decision as I feel let down after 10 weeks of training. Thanks for any help you can give.

Cheers, Neil”

Hey Neil, I’m afraid it certainly sounds that you were ruled against unfairly in this instance. If the events unfolded exactly as you have said and your opponent was injured from legitimate strikes and/or techniques then you should have been awarded the win via TKO. I would go back to the promoter and inform him that you would like the decision reversed to award you the win that you deserve.