Armchair Herb Deans and John McCarthys, take note. The widespread use of instant replay is being urged for MMA. If adopted, it could change the way finishes, uh, finish.
According to a report from Bloody Elbow, The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) Rules and Regulations Committee has five recommended changes for the Unified Rules of MMA. Passed by a 7-0 vote (with one abstention), it’s been recommended that the fight’s referee be able to use replay to analyze a finish to “either confirm or dispel whether a foul was committed that brought about the fight ending sequence.” From there, the official could decide if there’s a disqualification, a no contest or other finish outcomes that would come from the visual evidence. Replays would not lead to fight restarts or investigations of possible tap outs, however.
Replay, which is an option in Nevada, is being nudged by the ABC as something that should be adopted as a standard tool across the sport. Not an unreasonable piece of advice for a brand of athletics continuing to push for mainstream acceptance, although there are no shortage of painful examples of clunky replay rollouts in other leagues. For this option to move forward, the call for replay could come to a full vote at the ABC’s annual conference in July.
In addition to the potential for replay to become an expanded part of MMA contests, Bloody Elbow notes that other recommendations put forward and unanimously passed by the ABC include “expanding the possible use of technical decisions, ending fights when someone loses control of a bodily function, and making MMA’s rules on hand wraps and joint coverings consistent and unique from boxing.” We imagine when someone has lost all control of their bodily functions, they may be less hung up on their opponents joint wraps, but that might just be projecting on our part.
(Via Bloody Elbow)
