ELITE MMA RULES
(for World Championship)
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1) Place of Competition
• Matches are held inside a caged octagon, 7–10 meters in diameter.
2) Clothing & Protective Gear
• Fighters must wear MMA shorts.
• Protective gear: groin guard, open-hand gloves with covered thumbs, mouthpiece.
• Women: T-shirt/top + chest guard required.
• All gear must be jury-approved.
Gloves
• Padding thickness: 3–4 cm.
• Thumb coverage: padding 0.5–1 cm.
• Gloves must cover up to the middle of knuckles.
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3) Duration of Matches
• 2 rounds × 5 minutes, with 1 minute interval (both eliminations & finals).
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4) Legal Targets & Allowed Techniques
• Strikes allowed to the entire body except: spine, nape, top of head, throat, groin.
• Allowed: punches (closed fist), kicks, knees, shin strikes.
• A grounded fighter may kick a standing opponent in the face.
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5) Takedown
• Allowed to grab, hold, throw in any manner (not during submission finalization).
• Striking while grabbing is allowed.
• Forbidden:
• Holding ropes/cage.
• Throwing over the cage.
• Dropping opponent on neck/head first.
• Forcing opponent to fall directly on knees.
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6) Immobilizations
• Immobilization = 10 seconds control to earn points.
• Allowed: locks & chokes to maintain immobilization or force surrender.
• Advantage based on position (rear mount always considered dominant).
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7) Submission
• Fight can be finalized by: chokes, strangles, compressions, arm/leg/foot locks.
• Not allowed: finger locks, attacking face with hands.
• Referee may stop dangerous submissions (victory awarded).
• Mouthguard loss: referee pauses, reinserts, resumes.
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8) Scoring
• Judges award 10–9 system (10 to better fighter, 9 or 8 to opponent).
• Points deducted for penalties.
• In case of tie: referee’s preference decides.
• Winner: majority of verdicts.
• Claims must be submitted immediately in writing with fee.
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9) Referee
• Commands: “Fight!”, “Stop!”, “Break!”.
• May stop fight for:
• KO (3 clean face shots on grounded passive opponent).
• Fighter in great difficulty.
• Injury (doctor consulted).
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10) Judges
• Evaluate: strikes, combos, throws, immobilizations.
• Fill official scoring sheets.
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11) Jury
Includes:
• Timekeeper (time stops only on referee’s command).
• Announcer.
• Commissioner (ultimate authority).
• Doctor (decides on fighter safety).
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12) Points System
• Throw lifting both legs: 3 pts.
• Throw: 2 pts.
• Takedown: 1 pt.
• Immobilization: 1 pt.
• Side immobilization: 2 pts.
• Mount / Rear mount: 3 pts.
• Punch: 1 pt.
• Kick to body: 1 pt.
• Kick to head: 2 pts.
• Knee to body: 1 pt.
• Knockdown count: –1 pt.
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13) Weight Divisions
Men: 56, 60, 65.8, 70.3, 77.1, 84, 93, +93 kg
Women: 50, 55, 61, 68, 76, +76 kg
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14) Injury
• Foul injury: 3 minutes recovery time (doctor decides).
• No contest: if stopped before end of Round 1.
• After Round 1: winner decided by scorecards.
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15) Clinch
• Defined as 10s of inactivity in standing or ground position.
• Used to stall → referee intervenes.
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16) Illegal Actions
Grabbing shorts or gloves
Grabbing cage
Scratching, biting, headbutts
Elbow strikes
Strikes to neck, groin, spine, top of head
Pushing face with head
Using oils/ointments (unless approved by referee)