Fight fans are enthralled for UFC Edmonton on November 2 in Alberta, Canada. The card, of course, is full of Canadian fighters, even if the main event between #2 ranked flyweight Brandon Moreno and #3 ranked Amir Albazi is a non-Canadian affair. The co-main event will see two of the most exciting, top-five-ranked women flyweights, Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield fight for a potential title shot.

Along with these cracking matchups, the other thing that has fans hyped for the card is that it would be the first time two new rule changes will be implemented on a UFC card. This seems to have buoyed the card to ‘record-breaking’ sales as Dana White gleefully pointed out in a social media post.

“Tomorrow night’s Edmonton event BREAKS the record for @ufc North American fight night gate! It will also be the FIRST UFC EVENT adopting legal 12 to 6 elbows and 1 hand is no longer a grounded opponent,” White wrote along with a video announcing these changes.

This rule change is permanent and will be applicable in all UFC fights going forward. White confirmed this in reply to a fan, who asked whether “This rule change is now moving forward for all fights? Or just in Edmonton? 👀👏”

To which the UFC CEO had a simple but clear answer: “all fights.” But the question that many fans have is what will exactly do these rule changes mean, and how will they play out in practice? Let us take a look.

What will the new rule changes mean?

The 12-6 elbow rule change means that fighters will be able to straighten their arms upwards and throw elbows on a downed opponent. This has added another weapon to fighters’ ground-and-pound arsenal and may make it more dangerous. Fans will remember Jon Jones‘ only loss- a disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009 came as a result of throwing 12-6 elbows at his downed foe.

The grounded opponent rule has been changed from the previous one, which was considered quite unfair and was often exploited by fighters. Previously, a fighter having even one hand on the canvas was considered ‘grounded’ and thus could not be hit with knees or kicks to the head.

But now, a fighter will have to have at least one knee or elbow touching the ground to be considered grounded. These rule changes officially kicked in on November 1 and have been a long time coming. Both of these rules go back to the first version of the ‘Unified Rules of MMA’ that goes back to the 2000s. While fans are excited about these changes, how they play out in practice remains to be seen, and their effect will be clear on UFC Edmonton tonight. What are your thoughts on these rule changes? Let us know in the comment section below!