James Simrell Mixed Martial Arts

The standing fighter is attempting to escape defeat via armbar by slamming his opponent to the ground so that he will release his grip.

The rules for modern mixed martial arts competitions have changed significantly since the early days of vale tudo, Japanese shoot wrestling, and UFC 1, and even more from the historic style of pankration.

As the knowledge about fighting techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original minimalist rule systems needed to be amended.  The main motivations for these rule changes were protection of the health of the fighters, the desire to shed the image of "barbaric, no rules, fighting-to-the-death" matches, and being recognised as a sport.

The new rules included the introduction of weight classes; as knowledge about submissions spread, differences in weight had become a significant factor. There are 9 different weight classes. These 9 weight classes includes

• flyweight (up to 125 lb / 57 kg),
• bantamweight (126–135 lb / 61 kg),
• featherweight (136–145 lb / 66 kg),
• lightweight (146–155 lb / 70 kg),
• welterweight (156–170 lb / 77 kg),
• middleweight (171–185 lb / 84 kg),
• light heavyweight (186–205 lb / 93 kg),
• heavyweight (206–265 lb / 120 kg), and some organizations even go on to have a
• super heavyweight which is anything heavier than 265 pounds (120 kg).

Small, open-fingered gloves were introduced to protect fists in punches, reduce the occurrence of cuts (and stoppages due to cuts) and encourage fighters to use their hands for striking to allow more captivating matches.

Time limits were established to avoid long fights with little action where competitors conserved their strength. Matches without time limits also complicated the airing of live events. The time limits in most professional fights are three 5 minute rounds, and championship fights are normally five 5 minute rounds.

Similar motivations produced the "stand up" rule, where the referee can stand fighters up if it is perceived that both are resting on the ground or not advancing toward a dominant position.[21]

Gloves were first mandatory in Japan's Shooto promotion and were later adopted by the UFC as it developed into a regulated sport. Most professional fights have the fighters wear 4 oz gloves with little protection, whereas amateurs are required to wear a slightly heavier 6 oz glove for somewhat little more protection for the hands and wrist.

In the U.S., state athletic and boxing commissions have played a crucial role in the introduction of additional rules because they oversee MMA in a similar way to boxing. Smaller shows may use more restrictive rules because they have less experienced fighters. In Japan and Europe, there is no regulating authority over competitions, so these organizations have greater freedom in rule development and event structure.

Official sporting associations in traditional martial arts have been working to reduce injuries by emulating amateur boxing, requiring protective equipment such as headgear. However, newer forms of competitive fighting have emerged to recreate the original spirit of the traditional events by minimizing or even eliminating protective gear.

MMA is growing in popularity, and creates more scoring opportunities by allowing the use of both the hands and the feet. Some forms also allow for elbow and knee strikes. The more recently developed mixed martial arts fighting allows any maneuver except eye gouging, hair pulling, groin strikes, and finger bending.

Many U.S. states have a "no elbow policy" for amateurs to help protect the young fighters from serious injury by cuts or concussions. The use of a "12-6" elbow has been banned by several organizations along with restrictions on the use of knees to a downed opponent, dictated by one person having a hand, arm, or knee on the ground. Knees to the head of a grounded opponent is allowed in Japanese MMA. Headbutts are also widely prohibited because they require little effort and can quickly open cuts that might cause a fight to be stopped due to injury rather than because there is a winner.

Victory

Victory in a match is normally gained either by the judges' decision after an allotted amount of time has elapsed, a stoppage by the referee (for example if a competitor can not defend himself intelligently) or the fight doctor (due to an injury), a submission, by a competitor's cornerman throwing in the towel, or by knockout.

Knockout (KO): as soon as a fighter becomes unconscious due to strikes, his opponent is declared the winner. As MMA rules allow ground fighting, the fight is stopped to prevent further injury to an unconscious fighter.

Submission: a fighter may admit defeat during a match by:

• a tap on the opponent's body or mat/floor
• a verbal announcement/verbal tap

Technical Knockout (TKO)

• Referee stoppage: The ref may stop a match in progress if:

a fighter becomes dominant to the point where the opponent can not intelligently defend himself and is taking a lot of damage
.

a fighter appears to be unconscious from a submission hold or due to a strike
.

a fighter appears to have a significant injury such as a cut or a broken bone

Doctor Stoppage: the referee will call for a time out if a fighter's ability to continue is in question as a result of apparent injuries, such as a large cut. The ring doctor will inspect the fighter and stop the match if the fighter is deemed unable to continue safely, rendering the opponent the winner.

However, if the match is stopped as a result of an injury from illegal actions by the opponent, either a disqualification or no contest will be issued instead.

Corner stoppage: a fighter's corner men may announce defeat on the fighter's behalf by throwing in the towel during the match in progress or between rounds.

Decision: if the match goes the distance, then the outcome of the bout is determined by three judges. The judging criteria are organization-specific.

Forfeit: a fighter or his representative may forfeit a match prior to the beginning of the match, thereby losing the match.

Disqualification: a "warning" will be given when a fighter commits a foul or illegal action or does not follow the referee's instruction. Three warnings will result in a disqualification. Moreover, if a fighter is injured and unable to continue due to a deliberate illegal technique from his opponent, the opponent will be disqualified.

No Contest: in the event that both fighters commit a violation of the rules, or a fighter is unable to continue due to an injury from an accidental illegal technique, the match will be declared a "No Contest".

Most fighters found that the best combination was to train in a few grappling styles such as Western Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling, Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, Sambo, or Submission Wrestling and a couple of striking arts such as Western boxing, Kick Boxing and Muay Thai.

Clothing

Mixed martial arts promotions typically require that male fighters wear shorts as the only permissible attire, thus precluding the use of gi or fighting kimono to inhibit submission holds. Female fighters wear shorts and sports bras or other similarly snug-fitting tops.

The need for flexibility in the legs combined with durability prompted the creation of various fighting shorts brands, which then spawned a range of mixed martial arts clothing and casual wear available to the public.