ABC amends MMA’s Unified Rules – 6 things you need to know

Amidst the busiest stretch in MMA, that begun in earnest in July, the annual ABC conference got underway in Las Vegas and Tuesday shaped up to be an important day going forward, in the sport’s history. 45 representatives from various athletic commissions gathered to vote on a package of six rule changes proposed by the MMA Rules & Regulations committee chaired by former Bellator MMA commentator and current commissioner of the Kansas State Athletic Commission, Sean Wheelock.

Among the rule changes proposed were changes pertaining to eye pokes, the concept of grounded fighters, judging criteria among other things. These have been topics that have been coming up for a while among the industry insiders, sport fans and MMA media in general, who have been clamoring for some amendments to the rules that were largely perceived to have been borrowed from boxing, under the ABC’s guidelines.

However, despite some opposition (notably the New Jersey commission being the most vocal) when the final vote was cast, the package of rule changes passed 42 to 1.  The changes passed for the ABC’s version of the Unified Rules of MMA is set to go into effect in 30 days and here is what you, a fan, should know about them.