UFC 316 will not be your traditional MMA event as seen in 2025, and fans aren’t happy.
Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316 this weekend.
The fight takes place in Newark, New Jersey, meaning a different commission has been put in charge to lay down the boundaries in place for UFC‘s latest pay-per-view show.
On Friday, reports suggested that the New Jersey Athletic Control Board will not adopt the unified rules of MMA.
“Fighters with one hand or two hands on the mat will be considered grounded opponents and 12-to-6 elbows will be illegal,” combat sports journalist Aaron Bronsteter said.
This means that UFC 316 will revert to old rules used by the promotion before an event in Edmonton in November 2024.
It was revealed a month prior that 12-6 elbows – the one move that cost Jones his undefeated UFC record – would be legal in Dana White’s promotion for the foreseeable future.
Fans were relieved at the time, but they are now absolutely fuming.
One took to X in response to the rule change and said: “Let’s get fighters used to a new mindset after years and then take it away again.”
Another added: “Doesn’t make sense how there are different rules for each state. Doesn’t happen in any other sports.”
A third responded: “This is so stupid. Every commission should have this by now. Ridiculous some still left out.”
One simply stated: “Terrible,” while another said: “This has to be a joke, right…”
Jones was disqualified for using repeated 12-6 elbowsGettyJones was disqualified during a bout with Matt Hamill in December 2009 for hitting his opponent with a then-illegal 12-6 elbow.
A 12-6 elbow is an MMA strike where a fighter lifts their elbow as high as possible from a 12 o’clock position and drives it straight down into their opponent at six o’clock with maximum force.
It was originally put in place to protect fighters from taking those types of shots to the back of the head or spine, but there are now separate rules in place for that in modern MMA.
At the time of Jones’ fight with Hamill, the move was banned, which subsequently led to Jones receiving an early disqualification and a loss on his record that has followed him to date.
However, Jones didn’t let the defeat affect him as he then embarked on a 20-fight win streak, which culminated in a third-round stoppage victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.
The UFC heavyweight champion has since been urged several times to unify the division against interim champion Tom Aspinall, who has called for the challenge for months now to no avail.
Jones is the current UFC heavyweight championGetty Images - GettyUFC 316 pay-per-view card
Two title fights at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley – Men’s bantamweight title fight
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – Women’s bantamweight title fight
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix – Bantamweight
Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland – Welterweight
UFC Edmonton in November was be the first event in the promotion’s history where fighters were legally allowed to use the 12-6 elbow, but that is not the case for UFC 316.
The New Jersey event on Saturday also will witness Julianna Pena defend her women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event.
Kevin Gastelum takes on Joe Pyfer high up the card, while former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix makes his UFC debut.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘Terrible’ – UFC 316 to adopt controversial rule change that caused Jon Jones’ only career defeat as MMA fans fume )
Also on site :
- India A vs England Lions, Day 1: KL Rahul slams ton, Dhruv Jurel stars as Chris Woakes bags 3fer
- Northern Colorado men’s basketball coach Steve Smiley ‘excited’ to continue with the Bears
- X users were glued to the Musk v. Trump blowup. Could this be good for the platform?