The Unofficial Rules of International Mixed Martial Arts: Arlovski vs. Sylvia Editor Opinion
By: Sensei Phillip Palmejar
Repeated right hands land to the head of Tim Sylvia sending him to the canvas and inciting a riot of excitement from the Filipino fans. Andre Arlovski rushes the fallen foe to complete his TKO victory with a couple of well-placed soccer kicks to the face, initiating a stoppage by One FC referee, Yuji Shimada. The Pit Bull walks away in victory, finally settling a long awaited score between two former UFC Champions after they rallied a trio of matches for the organization. Seconds later, commotion arises within the cage and confusion begins to challenge the confidence that was just riddled across the face of the Greg Jackson protégé. After a brief consultation, Arlovski is no longer the winner of this incredible duel; instead, a No Contest is announced after Shimada deems the fight finishing head kicks illegal.
This is just a single example of many seemingly insignificant discrepancies surrounding the rules of professional mixed martial arts. A couple of other quick examples include Jon “Bones” Jones (16-1) lone career loss to Matt Hamilton (10-4); and Erick Silva’s (14-2) disqualification loss to Carlo Prater (30-11-1). In the first instance, Jones was dominating his fight en route to an uncontested TKO victory, when he threw a ‘12 to 6’ elbow and was subsequently disqualified. In the second example, Erick Silva was disqualified by Mario Yamasaki for throwing punches to the back of Carlo Prater’s head. That was the first time that rising welterweight superstar Silva had tasted defeat in the UFC and the first and only loss in Jones career to date.
In Asia’s rising #1 MMA fight promotion, ONE FC, the rules are even more ambiguous than the unified system most often used and recognized in the United States. They were created in part under the guidance of Pankration and MMA coach extraordinaire, Matt Hume; head instructor of AMC Pankration in Washington State. They include the use of both knees to a downed opponent and all elbow strikes, including the infamous ’12 to 6,’ however ONE FC introduced a new rule called the “open attack.” This is the exact rule that has become the bane of Andre Arlovski’s revenge over Tim Sylvia in ONE FC 5.
Essentially the rule allows a fighter to head kick or soccer a kick a downed opponent, if and only if, the referee determines it is allowed by declaring an “open attack.” The referee’s determination would be based on the consciousness of the downed fighter and his or her ability to intelligently defend them self. Arlovski successfully kicked Tim Sylvia in the face twice before referee Shimada was able to stop the action. However, Sylvia was clearly rocked from the repetitive right hands that he took in and about his face and jaw prior to hitting the canvas. That being said, Andre did break the official rules of ONE FC and Sylvia does deserve to walk away without a loss on his record.
What we should learn from this unfortunate rules shifting encounter is that it is difficult for both referees and fighters to attempt to make an in-the-moment split decision in regards to specific techniques that can or cannot be used. It is hard enough to execute moves that fighters have been training in the gym for months or years let alone to interpret a complex topography of rhetoric while trying not to get your head torn off by some of the greatest combatants in the world.
Therefore, a rules system should be put into place that actually “unifies” professional MMA. That system should take out the use of controversial elbows, as supported by fighters such as Nick Diaz and legend Bas Rutten, and allow the use of head kicks and knees to a downed opponent like the Pride FC days. Not only would this make for more exciting fights, it would also reduce the amount of tactical ground stalling used by many pressure grapplers as well as minimize the stoppage of fights due to cuts. Whether or not my ideas are put to use is irrelevant to the fact that something has to be done so that great fights do not keep ending with less than great results (I am purposely ignoring the topic of MMA judging entirely).
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