The unified rules struck again.
Last night (Feb. 3, 2024), Nassourdine Imavov largely dominated Roman Dolidze in the UFC Vegas 85’s main event. He picked apart the grappler for most of five rounds, yet the scorecards were quite odd, including one judge declaring the bout a draw. That scorecard is indefensible, but part of the explanation is that Imavov lost a point for kicking a grounded Dolidze in the face.
Kicks to the head of a grounded opponent are illegal in mixed martial arts (MMA) anywhere in the United States. There’s a mild push to legalize grounded knees, but few are trying to bring soccer kicks to the states. The problem here isn’t soccer kicking, it’s the whole grounded opponent concept.
Dolidze was standing on his two feet, bent at the waist, and placed a single hand on the floor. He wasn’t leaning heavily on the hand — his palm wasn’t even flat. In many states, he would not qualify for grounded opponent protections, meaning Imavov’s kick would have been totally legal.
Unified rules is a misnomer if there ever was one, and the grounded opponent term is perhaps the largest difference-maker. In some venues like Las Vegas, any bit of fingers on one hand touching the canvas is enough to be grounded. Other states require two hands, while others yet require the athlete to fully weight both hands.
It’s bizarre, confusing and causes nothing but problems. Fortunately, there is hope.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) head, Andy Foster, is proposing to eliminate the hand as an option entirely, meaning fighters would have to kneel or put their back on the floor to be considered grounded. The proposal will go to a vote over summer, and hopefully, there will be some unification of the alleged unified rules.
UFC Vegas 85’s main event serves as another piece of evidence for Foster’s case. The fight wasn’t ruined because Dolidze is inhumanely tough and opted to continue, but it still disrupted the action and wasted time. It cost Dolidze an extra hard shot to the head, and Imavov nearly found himself in another “No Contest” situation.
Hopefully, we only have a few more months of nonsense.
For complete UFC Vegas 85: “Dolidze vs. Imavov” results and play-by-play, click HERE.