Unusual and Weird MMA Rules

At the beginning of the MMA tournaments, this sport looked brutal and lawless. But, as MMA evolved and gained great popularity worldwide, more and more rules were invented to keep it safe and exciting simultaneously.

You can find many reasonable rules in the rulebook Unified Rules of MMA like forbidden eye pokes or groin strikes. On the other hand, some rules are just weird and possibly unnecessary.

So, for you fans of MMA out there, I’ve prepared an interesting list of these unusual MMA rules.

Without delay, I’ll begin!

#5 – No Abusive Language

For many reasons, one of the strangest MMA rules is that fighters can’t use abusive language in the cage. I’ve to say that the essence of MMA is that you can either beat or choke your opponent until he’s no longer conscious. That being said, it’s funny because fighters have the right to injure one another seriously but not use trash talk or curses toward their opponent.

Also, what’s weird with this rule is that referees hardly apply it in the cage since fighters like McGregor, who trash talk regularly, don’t get any warnings to stop.

#4 – Timidity Isn’t Allowed

MMA enthusiasts are aware that this is a sport that brings excitement to them. Nobody would like to watch boring fights on their TV or in a live arena if that weren’t the case.

Even though the MMA rulebook has emphasized the fighters’ safety, entertainment is also one of the priorities.

So, to keep MMA fun, they introduced a rule that makes timidity illegal. To clarify, fighters can’t avoid contact with their opponent, fake an injury, or drop their mouthpiece multiple times during the fight.

Timidity isn’t often seen in the cage, but it can happen from time to time. One example was in 2020 when Dan Miragliotta warned Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero for timidity in the UFC middleweight championship title fight.

#3 – Headbutting Is Illegal

Possibly one of the most controversial rules in the fighting promotion UFC is that the rules forbid any intentional headbutting. The reason is that when the UFC started to make fights, the martial artists who fought were allowed to headbutt. Today, headbutting is illegal in the UFC. Also, many other MMA organizations don’t allow headbutting in their fights.

Since its early days, MMA has significantly evolved, and the focus is on improving fighters’ well-being. That being said, headbutting isn’t allowed because fighters can get severe and irreversible brain damage.

On the other hand, some MMA experts, such as the legendary UFC commentator Joe Rogan, think headbutting should be allowed because why could someone elbow you in the face but not hit you with their forehead since it’s effective? A Polish MMA fighting promotion, WOTORE allows headbutts.

The headbutt is a strange MMA rule because fighters can get knocked out in a millisecond via unintentional headbutt. So, it’s up to the referee to decide whether it was on purpose or not. Basically, it can be a lose-lose match since the fighter can get knocked out with a headbutt and lose the match. That happened in the UFC fight between Mitrione and Fortune, when Mitrione was headbutted by accident, got knocked out, and eventually lost the fight.

#2 -It’s Illegal To Throw Out Your Opponent From the Octagon

An MMA rule that is quite unnecessary, in the opinion of many MMA experts, is that fighters aren’t allowed to throw their opponent outside of the octagon. It would be better if there were a rule that states if someone accidentally gets thrown out of the cage, they should either just enter the ring again, or maybe the referee should do a count like the one we see when boxers are knocked out.

This MMA rule doesn’t seem essential because there’ve only been a few cases of an attempt to throw an opponent from outside the octagon. For example, in 1996, Tank Abbott tried to throw Cal Worsham outside of the ring but didn’t do it in the end.

#1- 12-6 Elbows

Many MMA fans think the 12-6 elbow strikes should be allowed, but they’re illegal, according to the official MMA rulebook (Unified Rules of MMA). For those who don’t know what 12-6 elbows mean, they are downward elbow strikes that move from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock.

One of the reasons this rule made it into the official rulebook was to calm people who thought that MMA was too violent in its early days. Also, 12-6 elbow strikes are illegal because they can cause severe forehead cuts and head injuries. If someone uses these downward elbows, they’ll be disqualified.

The most famous example of a 12-6 disqualification was when Jon Jones struck Matt Hamill with downward elbows and eventually got disqualified. This was the only loss in Jon Jones’ all-time great UFC career.