What is Banned in the UFC?

To understand what is banned in the UFC, we must first build a context and find the why. The paramount fighting show began in 1993. It was the brainchild of Art Davie and Rorion Gracie, later joined by several other co-creators. The idea resulted from a rather simple and curious thought. What if a boxer fights a wrestler? Who will win?

This question had no answer to it until UFC 1 took place. That day, the world of fighting was taken upside down and changed forever. It was never-seen-before, brutal, unforgiving, and bloody at the very least. The event would stage the best fighters coming from different disciplines and weight categories against one another. 

UFC 1 had only two rules!

There weren’t a set number of rounds. There also weren’t any timeouts or judges to keep a track of points won. One could kick a grounded opponent in its face and that was fine. Nothing like a technical knockout existed. Only two rules, no biting, and no eye-gauging!

Everybody remembers the iconic moment of sheer brutality when a lean Gerard Gordeau kicked a sumo wrestler Teila Tuli in his face. The tooth came out flying and the onlookers couldn’t believe what they saw. It happened in a tournament format, and hence one might have to fight multiple matches in one night. Something we no more hear today!

The controversial land!

Thanks to this wilderness, the television cable companies denied putting the fights on air. The UFC won’t even find distributors. Adding misery to the agony, NY senator Roy Goodman opened a full-fledged protest against the UFC. Senator John McCain tagged it as ‘cockfighting’ and the sport later saw a ban in New York (1997). 

The change in rules finally began!

The promoters of the sport saw the sport dying in front of their eyes and hence revamped it. UFC 28 in November 2000 was the first event to have “Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts”. But it was still not considered a ‘sport’ and continued to face criticism. 

Enter Dana White and the new era of UFC!

Dana White has a net worth of $500 million today. But he, along with the Fertitta brothers, purchased the UFC at $2 million back in 2001. Although UFC saw initial years of loss, it gained the momentum post-2006. The organization worked hard to make MMA a mainstream sport by introducing new rules that will keep the fights interesting and also banning some moves that are too inhuman.

So what is banned in the UFC?

Here is a list of moves that are banned-

#1 Holding the fence

Just as in WWE, one can not hold the ropes and continue fighting, UFC has it too. Mostly, fighters hold the fence as a support to avoid a takedown, but again, it can attract a strict warning from the referee. 

#2 12-6 Elbows

A downward elbow-strike is deadly. Elbow strikes anyway are a rare move to witness, but when it comes to the 12-to-6 elbow (clock analogy), it gets nasty. Hence, for the safety of the fighters, this move is banned.

#3 Pulling hair

There was a time when Royce Gracie used hair pulling as a method to control his opponents. However, the modern-day UFC fighters don’t have the liberty to do so.

Mostly you will find MMA fighters with a military haircut. But there are fighters like Jorge Masvidal who will be at a tremendous disadvantage if hair pulling is allowed. Plus, it will look like a cat and dog fight. Still, there are many instances, especially in women’s matches when we get to see the warning against hair pulling.

#4 Knees/Stomps/Kicks on a grounded opponent

Just as with the aforementioned 12-6 elbow, the moves like kicking or stomping an already grounded opponent are a no-no. So we can no more see someone losing their tooth because of one such kick in the face.

#5 Eye gouging

This has remained banned since the beginning of the show. But still, we see some accidental times when an opponent pokes the eye of the other fighter. The referee, in these conditions, extends a warning and allows the injured player to get back in full capacity before restarting the fight. 

Some nastier ones ahead…

#6 Headbutting

The Zinedine Zidane show did not work in Soccer, and neither will it work in the UFC. Headbutts can severely injure anyone and can also cause concussions. However, this is also one of those things that can often happen unintentionally. Regardless, they have the potential to change the course of the fight. The latest example of the same is the first meeting between Davison Figueredo and Joseph Benavidez. 

After the first round, Benavidez was up on the scorecards. However, what seemed like an unintentional headbutt between the two ended up rocking Benavidez. Figueredo took the advantage and ended up winning the fight.

#7 Groin attack

This move is banned for the most obvious of reasons. The UFC 4 fight between Keith Hackney and Joe Son can prove to you why it was banned. Although the fighters wear guards for their safety, a full-blown deliberate attack below the belt can prove lethal.

#8 Back of the head punches

One of the illegal moves that happen most frequently is the punches to the back of the head. The referees have to keep an eye out and be very vigilant to prevent them. Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar in UFC 81 saw one such moment of a head punch in the back of the head. This damaging move is also prohibited.

#9 Spiking/Piledriving

Piledriving can severely pressure the head and the neck and is quite rare to witness. Here is a video of Daniel Cormier doing that to a training partner.

#10 Fish hooking

Last but not the least, we have Fish Hooking wherein one grabs the open a part of the mouth or try to go nasty while pulling the nostrils, mostly accidentally. It’s rare to see in the UFC because no professional would want to try it.

Lastly, UFC has also partnered with USADA to curb doping in the sport. Let us know in the comment section if you believe more moves must be banned or some of the banned ones must get an allowance.

Sources- Highsnobiety, Sports Bible, Mitch MMA – YouTube