ABC Makes Changes On MMA’s Eye Poke, Neoprene Sleeve Rule

The world of MMA has changed in multiple ways in the past few years. More of those changes were seen on April 27 when The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) made two primary changes to its unified rules.

As it is headed by association president Mike Mazzulli, the conference goes on for five days. The first two days are dominated by discussions related to judging courses and referees led by certified instructors Kevin MacDonald, Blake Grice, and Sal D’Amato. The last three days highlight the main problems in MMA and collaborating with guest speakers.

According to the first rule change, the athletes will be given five minutes to recover after eye pokes. The action can restart before five minutes as well, but the consent of the affected athlete must be involved in it. Previously, there was no such time given as the individual who throws in the foul will be given a warning. Moreover, it was ensured that the affected fighter doesn’t have a fight-ending injury.

If the time goes beyond five minutes and the fighter cannot continue, the bout will be called off and the winner will be declared.

According to the second rule change, competitors will be allowed to wear Neoprene sleeves. Historically, the Neoprene sleeves have been the center of attention of the commissioning bodies, but now they will be embraced by the ABC jurisdictions.