‘Big’ John McCarthy knows which MMA rule he would change if given the authority to do so.
The former UFC referee is admittedly quite happy with the current Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts — particularly the recent changes that redefined what a grounded opponent is and abolished the rule banning 12-to-6 elbows. However, there is one further change that he’d like to see implemented.
“I would love to see it knees to the head someday, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, but I would like to see it,” McCarthy told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think it would be a good thing for the sport.”
Knees to the head of a grounded opponent have been a hot topic among fighters and fans over the years. The maneuver was a staple of fights during the PRIDE FC era in Japan and can still be utilized under the RIZIN FF and ONE Championship banners, but don’t expect to see the contentious strikes inside the UFC anytime soon. At least, not legally.
Petr Yan was DQ’d following the illegal knee to the head of Aljamain Sterling 🤯🤯🤯https://t.co/tpZxwNYwal
— Elite Media Group (@TheEliteMedia_) March 7, 2021
“I’m going to be honest, as a fan of the sport and even as an official, I look and say knees to the head to someone that’s on the ground, not soccer kicks, it’s different, but knees to the head of somebody on the ground could be effective in the fight,” McCarthy explained. “What it can do is that it keeps the defensive fighter from putting themselves in positions that they could be attacked with a knee if it was legal, but they know that they can’t, so they’re utilizing rules to protect themselves than skill sets.
“You go and you watch fighters that switch organizations to Rizin or ONE and have to change. They change quickly. Demetrious Johnson was a guy that got hurt and lost to Moraes off of a knee when he was grounded, but he learned from it and came back.”
Adriano Moraes 🇧🇷 SHOCKS THE WORLD, becoming the first man to finish Demetrious Johnson! @adrianomkmoraes #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT pic.twitter.com/HhvlmwDwW6
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 8, 2021
John McCarthy Continues to Make His Case
With knees to the head of an upright opponent being perfectly legal inside the Octagon, McCarthy fails to see what difference it makes if a fighter is on their feet versus on the mat when eating a knee. If anything, he believes that allowing knees to a grounded athlete would not only make fights more realistic but offer a new level of excitement for fans of the sport.
“When you sit there and look at it and go, ‘Well, that’s terrible for the fighter,’ what’s the difference between being able to knee someone on the head when they’re standing or if they’re on the ground? There is no difference,” McCarthy said. “I look at it and say that I honestly believe that knees to the head should be opened up.
“It would open the fight up and make the fights a little bit more realistic and more exciting at times. Any time you give an offensive tool to a fighter, it opens the fight up.”
