UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier opposes ABC’s decision to lift 12-6 elbow ban, explains why

August 7, 2024 6:00 pm ET

Daniel Cormier is not a fan of 12-6 elbows being legalized in MMA.

Starting in November, the Unified Rules of MMA will change, with 12-6 elbows being allowed in fights. The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports rules committee voted unanimously to lift the ban, which had been in place since the MMA unified rules were created in 2000.

Cormier explains that by legalizing 12-6 elbows, MMA will trend back to a violent sport that was frowned upon in the early days before rules were implemented.

“I don’t like that,” Cormier said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Ben Askren. “I don’t like 12-to-6 elbows, and I don’t like soccer kicks. I do not want to see soccer kicks. … Here’s my thought: When I was fighting ‘Rumble’ Johnson, you couldn’t (throw an elbow straight down), but if you do a little bit of an arch, it’s OK. So, I was able to cut ‘Rumble’ with an arching elbow, but it really did come straight down. It was very little in terms of not being straight up and down.

“I just don’t want anything that makes fighting look like a street fight. That’s it. John McCain, before he passed, was against fighting because he said ‘it’s human cockfighting.’ Then they would show these videos of gang fights, people running around and people on the ground, and they would kick them in the face. If we get to soccer kicks, it starts to look like that again, and that’s not good. I don’t care as much about 12-6 elbows, but I think the moment we start opening those rules again, then it’s going to be more and more and more, and ultimately we’ll get back to soccer kicks.”

The most infamous case involving the 12-6 elbow involved current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, whose lone loss of his career happened because he was disqualified for landing several 12-6 elbows on Matt Hamill in December 2009. At the time, Jones appealed to the Nevada Athletic Commission but to no avail.

UFC CEO Dana white supports having Jones’ loss overturned.

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