Back in 2016, the Association of Boxing Commissions hoped to create a paradigm shift in the world of MMA, with a reimagining of what it meant to be a ‘downed fighter.’ To eliminate the gamesmanship from athletes around defending knees and kicks to the head by placing as little as a single fingertip on the canvas, the ABC announced that fighters would need to have both hands on the mat as well as at least one foot (or to have any other body parts on the mat) to be considered ‘down’.
Unfortunately, individual state commissions weren’t nearly so interested in implementing this new regulation as the ABC had been in passing it, and what followed was a patchwork of different rules around the country.