There are a lot of rules that fans and fighters alike would like to see removed or added to the unified set of rules. A new round of updates is set to go into effect later this year, which will not sit well with some people. While he isn’t in active UFC competition, Daniel Cormier can’t help but not like the ‘12-6’ elbow rule.
Now a color commentator, ‘DC’ had a decorated wrestling career before transitioning to MMA. A StrikeForce Grand Prix and UFC dual-division champ, Daniel Cormier has seen much action in his days. Hence, he has stuff to say about the decision to lift the ban on one of the sport’s most controversial strikes.
I don’t like that, I don’t like 12-to-6 elbows, and I don’t like soccer kicks…I just don’t want anything that makes fighting look like a street fight, that’s it. [Senator] John McCain, before he passed, was against [MMA] fighting because he said, ‘It’s human cockfighting’…they would show these videos of gang fights, people running around and people on the ground.
Daniel Cormie via ‘Funky and the Champ’, 🎥: @DC_MMA on YT
In July, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports voted to remove the ‘12-6’ elbow rule ban. Per MMA Unified Rules (which UFC follows), a 12-6 elbow means a “straight up-down elbow strike” to a ground opponent. UFC has changed a lot over the years. Hence, the technical fights would not suit the no-holds-bar or unpadded bare fistfighting curriculums of the old.
It is up to individual commissions to adopt this new rule change starting in November. All-around strikers who know the ground game as well, like Tom Aspinall, have upvoted the ban. Ironically, the ‘12-6’ elbow rule is also why his rival Jon Jones faced DQ in his 2009 fight with Matt Hamill. ‘Bones’ has taken this to tout his undefeated stats. Hamill, on the other hand, is tired of hearing the win should be overturned. Meanwhile, Cormier puts out his perspective on the rule change.
Daniel Cormier explains why he isn’t a fan of the rule change
MMA rules and scoring, moreover UFC rules, remain as convoluted as ever. Nevertheless, the whole MMA clique and fighting base unanimously favor a strike-heavy approach. It is because strike-heavy approaches and flashy finishers score more in favor. As such, a straight-up straight-down elbow striking just brings back the nostalgia of the no-hold-bar style of the old.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t want an addition or ban to striking rules (Source: UFC.go.com/thespun.com)CSAC executive officer Andy Foster recently said an ABC rules committee unanimously lifted the ban. Hence, the usage of the ‘12-6’ elbow rule is up for interpretation. Daniel Cormier has been around long enough to know what makes up for a highly technical fight and a slugfest. He iterates one of his own matches as an example.
Here’s my thought: When I was fighting ‘Rumble’ Johnson, you can’t do this [imitates elbow straight down], but if you do a little bit of an arch, it’s okay…Angle and arch, so I was able to cut ‘Rumble’ with an arching elbow, but it really did come straight down – it was very little in terms of not being straight up and down.
Daniel Cormier via his YT Channel
Speaking with Ben Askren on his latest episode of Funky and the Champ, Cormier said there’s a thin line between what counts and what doesn’t. One must note that this is Cormier’s opinion. Rule enforcers like the referees will have to explain the changes in the future. Only then will fans get clarity on how the rule change impacts the fighting style moving forward.
