Opinion: Unify the Rules

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UFC Seattle was about as close to perfect as it gets heading into the main event. Eight of the first 11 bouts resulted in finishes, and the three fights that went the distance were all competitive enough to satiate viewers’ appetites. All we needed was for the Henry Cejudo-Yadong Song headliner to be a passable experience, and we would have been talking about a potential “Event of the Year” contender. Instead, we were treated to an utterly disastrous outcome.

The actual fighting between Song and Cejudo was solid enough. Scores were either 2-0 for Song or 1-1 through two rounds. Round 3 was close, too, but Song appeared to be largely ahead about halfway through it. He then landed a low blow. Cejudo recovered quickly, but less than a minute later, Song managed to jam his fingers into both of the onetime Olympic gold medalist’s eyes. It was a brutal and damaging foul.

Cejudo did what he was supposed to do and took as much time to recover as the MMA rules would allow. Like all fighters, Cejudo didn’t want to be perceived as someone who was looking for the easy way out and continued fighting as soon as his five minutes of recovery time were up; and in doing so, he cost himself any chance of winning the fight. There was roughly 90 seconds left in the third round when action resumed, and all Cejudo could do was circle and avoid damage. He admitted he couldn’t see in between rounds, and the fight was stopped due to injury. Referee Jason Herzog had it judged as a technical decision through three rounds, which Song won.

All matter of opinion has been shared regarding the final outcome, and not a single one of them project satisfaction with it, not even Song’s. The confusion about the rules is a big reason why so many were upset. Why wasn’t the fight declared a technical knockout win for Song? Given that the fight wasn’t stopped immediately after the foul, it would make sense for the stoppage to be declared in that manner. Why was Herzog trying to dictate the type of result for the end of the fight? He kept declaring he needed to start the fourth round, only to immediately stop it, for the fight to go to a technical decision. Unless I’m mistaken, that isn’t part of his job, even if I agree that going to decision would be more just for Cejudo than a TKO in Song’s favor. And, of course, why wasn’t a point deducted for the eye poke? It was egregious and immediately followed a previous foul. If that isn’t the time to take a point, I don’t know what would be.

Part of the problem is the Unified Rules of MMA is a complete misnomer, as they are anything but unified. If a state’s athletic commission decides it disagrees with an aspect of the Unified Rules, it can change them. While I agree that an athletic commission should have the right to do so, the Ultimate Fighting Championship also has the right to declare that it will not visit a state that doesn’t operate under the Unified Rules. If there is any organization that has the ability to force the Unified Rules to become uniform, it’s the UFC. Given that most states do follow them, it probably wouldn’t be too hard of a push. Besides, it isn’t like the rules in the NBA or NFL are different depending on where a game is being played.

However, there needs to be further clarification in terms of when to take points. Had Herzog taken a point following the eye poke and everything else had played out as it did, the fight would have been declared a majority draw—a conclusion that would have been more palatable. Had a point been deducted following the groin shot, who’s to say the second infraction would have even occurred? Song would likely have fought with more caution, and the eye poke might not have occurred. Sure, fighting more cautiously would have been to his detriment, but he did commit the infraction. Plus, with the precedent having been set, Cejudo would have also lost a point had he fouled. They would have been on equal footing. With two and a half rounds to go, that’s a long time for one to go without committing an infraction.

If the powers that be decided the first infraction only warrants a warning, I’d be fine with that, provided the foul is interpreted as unintentional. Even that is debatable, though; other sports don’t care if infractions are intentional. A foul is a foul no matter what. Fighters are all too aware of the fact that they can get away with numerous infractions without paying a consequence. Fence grabs, in particular, are committed intentionally, and even though that wasn’t the issue with Song and Cejudo, it’s the knowledge that they know they have leeway to get away with it.

While referees want to have as little influence on fights as possible, they still have a great deal of impact. They influence them when they call fouls, and they influence them when they don’t call fouls. They are part of the fight, and it would help if they had clearer directives on how they’re supposed to administer their authority beyond just their discretion. Further guidelines also leave less room for criticism. If they know when exactly they should take points—whether it’s for every infraction or for every infraction after the first one—they’ll just be seen as doing their job, as opposed to everyone dictating when they should or shouldn’t take points. When trust is in referees is as low as it is now, greater clarity would be a boon for them.

There would still be plenty of room to criticize the refs. Was that stoppage justified? Did they miss that foul? Should they have called that foul? The UFC could really make a push for greater clarification with the rules, whether that’s actually unifying the Unified Rules or insisting on greater dictation in regards to when points are taken. The end of Song and Cejudo was going to be a disaster no matter what, but the scope of it could have been greatly reduced if the UFC had been more proactive on the matter; or maybe I should say quicker to react. It’s not like this hasn’t been a problem for a long time.