“Undefeated” Jon Jones loves the new 12-to-6 elbow rule change
Jon Jones wants that lone loss eliminated from his record following the ABC’s decision to do away with the 12-to-6 elbow rule.
Though the undisputed UFC heavyweight world champion is often touted as beating undefeated, that’s simply not the case. During an especially dominant performance against Matt Hamill in December 2009, ‘Bones’ was controversially disqualified by referee Steve Mazzagatti for using illegal 12-to-6 elbows that left Hamill unable to continue.
Now, Jones is calling for Dana White and Co. to scrub the DQ debacle from his record after the Association of Boxing Commission voted to abolish the ancient elbowing rule on Tuesday.
Previously, it was illegal for a fighter to bring their arm straight up and straight down to land an elbow strike on their opponent. Oftentimes, the blows were at the discretion of the referee, leading to rampant confusion over the rule. Fortunately, the instances of a fight being affected by the 12-to-6 rule have been few and far between with Jones’ DQ loss to Hamill being by far the most egregious.
Learning of the ABC’s ruling, Jones tagged Dana White on Instagram, telling the UFC CEO that they need to “get that loss out of the history books.”
“Undefeated then, undefeated now… Dana White we gotta get that loss out of the history books.”
In addition to the 12-to-6 elbow rule change, the ABCs update what constitutes a ‘grounded fighter’
In addition to the elimination of the 12-to-6 rule, the definition of a grounded opponent has been changed. Previously, a grounded opponent was considered to be a fighter who had one hand on the mat and then any other body part touching the floor — including the other hand.
The updated rule now states that a fighter must have a body part on the canvas other than their hands or feet — knee, elbow, etc — to be considered grounded.
“A fighter shall be considered grounded and may not be legally kneed or kicked to the head when any part of their body other than their hands or feet is in contact with the canvas (ground).”
Though the rule changes were approved this week, they will not go into effect until November 1, 2024.
