UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping has had enough of a rule in MMA that may be making its way out of the unified rules.
Recently, CSAC executive Andy Foster appeared on “The MMA Hour” and told Ariel Helwani that the rule deeming a fighter with his hand on the mat as a downed fighter will be eliminated in the future. Unfortunately, that change didn’t happen in time for UFC Vegas 85, which saw Nassourdine Imavov on the receiving end of a point deduction after kicking Roman Dolidze when he was “playing the game,” as Bisping put it. The good news is, this soon-to-be abolished foul had no impact on the outcome of the fight.
With that said, Michael Bisping feels things aren’t moving fast enough.
Michael Bisping Slams Hand Rule In MMA
In a new video posted on his YouTube channel, “The Count” explained the biggest issue with allowing MMA fighters to get away with avoiding damage simply by putting a hand on the ground.
“That’s why this is such a stupid rule,” Bisping said. “… The big thing here is that nobody in their right mind in a real fight, live combat situation if they’re in the middle of the fight, is gonna lean on the ground, is gonna just chill. ‘We’re just gonna chill here for a second, I’m gonna put my hands on the ground,’ because in a fight situation you’re gonna get cracked, you’re gonna get punched, kicked, kneed. You’re gonna get demolished.”
Bisping went on to say that there should be faster movement on getting rid of that rule, and unbanning 12 to 6 elbows.
“That rule change needs to go into effect right now to stop circumstances like this happening,” Bisping said. “Also on the docket for the rule changes is the 12 to 6 elbow. I’m surprised that, that isn’t already changed.”
Bisping took things a step further, calling on referees to do a better job of breaking up stalling against the fence.
“Fights need to be broken up against the fence a lot more quickly, in my humble opinion,” Bisping said. “There was a lot of time in that fight Dolidze was pressuring him up against the fence, and just kind of holding him there. Herb Dean kept saying, ‘Hey, come on. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.’ I wanna see them broken up far, far sooner.”
Bisping may get his wish on both rules if Andy Foster ends up getting his way. With how respected Foster is among his peers, we might just get faster movement as well.
Here’s the full video of Michael Bisping criticizing current MMA rules:
