MMA getting legalized, and the sport in general.

Some people just hate what they don't fully understand.

 
     Everyone has a right to their opinion, but it would be nice if when people state their opinions they are informed ones.  The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has come a long way since The Ultimate Fighter aired and since the first no rules event was held in the 90's.  For instance...there are rules now so when some one who is against the sport writes an uninformed article like this one, it bothers me.  It's well written and I agree with the writers view on promoters and how some may treat their fighters but don't try to get people to side with you by giving incorrect information.  The sport is not legal everywhere and I hate it when people try to put a negative spin on it to get bills denied in making it legal.

 It's on television often enough now that you can watch and learn how the events are held.  So that the uninformed can be informed here are the most basic version of the rules in what you'll see on TV:

MMA Fouls

Although every MMA fighting organization has its own specific rules that vary by where the events take place, some universal no-no’s do exist. They’re listed in the Unified Rules of MMA, but here’s a quick look at what’s not allowed:

• No groin attacks.
• No knees to the head on a grounded opponent.
• No strikes to the back of the head or the spine.
• No head butts.
• No eye gouging.
• No fish hooking. (hooking the mouth or nose with fingers for control)
• No fingers in an opponent’s orifices.
• No biting.
• No hair pulling.
• No strikes or grabbing of the throat.
• No manipulation of the fingers or toes.
• No intentional grabbing of the ring or cage.
• No intentional throwing of your opponent outside of the ring or cage.

Accidentally performing one of these actions in a fight earns you an automatic warning from the referee. If your opponent was injured from your accidental action, he’ll get five minutes to recover.

Approved ways to end an MMA fight

An MMA competition can end in one of several ways and does not "encourage a competitor to keep punching, kicking, elbowing and twisting a prone opponent until they surrender, become incapacitated or are rendered unconscious".  These are the real ways:

• Decision. If a fight lasts all rounds, the outcome is decided by three judges. Each fighting promotion has its own unique point system.
• Disqualification (DQ). Think of this as a sort of “three strikes and you’re out” policy. Each time a fighter engages in an illegal move, he receives a warning. After three warnings, he’s disqualified. A DQ can also be called if a fighter has been injured by an illegal move that seemed intentional.
• Forfeit. A fighter can announce a forfeit before a match begins if he’s injured.
• Knockout (KO). A knockout is when a fighter loses consciousness due to his opponent’s strikes.
• No contest. If both fighters violate the rules, or if a fighter is injured by an unintentional illegal action, a no-contest call can result. No contest is rarely called in MMA fights.
• Submission. If one fighter achieves a submission hold, the fighter trapped in the hold can call defeat by tapping out on his opponent’s body or the mat, or by making a verbal announcement. Some defeated fighters fail to tap out and become incapacitated. In such cases, the referee calls an end to the fight.
• Technical knockout (TKO). A technical knockout, when a fight is ended by the referee, doctor, or fighter’s corner, can be called in a few ways. The referee can call one when a fighter is no longer defending himself, usually due to an effective attack by his opponent.
  A doctor can also call a TKO if it’s clear that continuing the fight could be dangerous. And finally, a fighter’s corner can throw in a towel to admit defeat, resulting in a TKO.

    Hopefully this will help any uninformed people know a little more about something before they try and make it look like it's some "cage fight".  It's not always in a cage either, there have been many events in the ring like all of Pride Fighting Championships events and others that aren't around anymore.  The more states that pass the bill, the more people can learn about the sport. I wrote something last week about other promotions coming on TV soon if you would like to see some live events.  I know I'm doing the opposite of the negative article but I felt the description of the sport was inaccurate.