UNIFIED MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FOULS

1. The following acts constitute fouls in a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts and may result in penalties, at the discretion of the referee, if committed:
   1. Butting with the head
   2. Eye gouging of any kind
   3. Biting
   4. Spitting at an opponent
   5. Hair pulling
   6. Fish hooking
   7. Groin attacks of any kind
   8. Putting a finger into any orifice or any cut or laceration of an opponent
   9. Small joint manipulation
   10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow
   11. Striking to the spine or the back of the head
   12. Kicking to the kidney with a heel
   13. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
   14. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
   15. Grabbing the clavicle
   16. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
   17. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
   18. Stomping a grounded opponent
   19. Holding the fence
   20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
   21. Using abusive language in fenced ring/fighting area
   22. Engaging in any unsportsmanlike conduct that causes injury to an opponent
   23. Attacking an opponent on or during the break
   24. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
   25. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the round
   26. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
   27. Throwing opponent out of ring/fighting area
   28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
   29. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck
   30. Interference by the corner
   31. Applying any foreign substance to the hair or body to gain an advantage
2. Disqualification may occur after any combination of fouls or after a flagrant foul at the discretion of the referee.
3. Fouls may result in a point being deducted by the official scorekeeper from the offending contestant’s score. The scorekeeper, not the judges, will be responsible for calculating the true score after factoring in the point deduction.
4. Only a referee can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, judges must not make that assessment on their own and should not factor such into their scoring calculations.
5. If a foul is committed:
   1. The referee shall call timeout.
   2. The referee shall order the offending contestant to a neutral location.
   3. The referee shall check the fouled contestant’s condition and safety.
   4. The referee shall then assess the foul to the offending contestant and deduct points if the referee deems it appropriate, and notify the commission, the corners, the official scorekeeper of his decision on whether the foul was accidental or intentional and whether a point is to be taken away.
6. If a bottom contestant commits a foul, unless the top contestant is injured, the contest will continue and:
   1. The referee will verbally notify the bottom contestant of the foul.
   2. When the round is over, the referee will assess the foul and notify the commission, the corners, the judges and the official scorekeeper.
   3. The referee may terminate a contest based on the severity of a foul. For such a flagrant foul, the contestant committing the foul shall lose by disqualification.
7. Low Blow Foul:
   1. A fighter who has been struck with a low blow is allowed up to 5 minutes to recover from the foul as long as in the ringside doctor’s opinion the fighter may possibly continue on in the contest.
   2. If the fighter states that they can continue on before the five minutes of time have expired, the referee shall, as soon as practical, restart the fight.
   3. If the fighter goes over the 5 minute time allotment, and the fight cannot be restarted, the contest must come to an end with the outcome determined by the round and time in which the fight was stopped. See Section 16 below.
8. Fighter Fouled by other than low blow:
   1. If a contest of mixed martial arts is stopped because of an accidental foul, the referee shall determine whether the unarmed combatant who has been fouled can continue or not. If the unarmed combatant’s chance of winning has not been seriously jeopardized as a result of the foul and if the foul did not involve a concussive impact to the head of the unarmed combatant who has been fouled, the referee may order the contest or exhibition continued after a recuperative interval of not more than 5 minutes. Immediately after separating the unarmed combatants, the referee shall inform the Commission’s representative of his determination that the foul was accidental.
   2. If a fighter is fouled by blow that the referee deems illegal, the referee should stop the action and call for time. The referee may take the injured fighter to the ringside doctor and have the ringside doctor examine the fighter as to their ability to continue on in the contest. The ringside doctor has up to 5 minutes to make their determination. If the ringside doctor determines that the fighter can continue in the contest, the referee shall as soon as practical restart the fight. Unlike the low blow foul rule, the fighter does not have up to 5 minutes of time to use, at their discretion, and must continue the fight when instructed to by the referee.
   3. For a foul other than a low blow, if the injured fighter is deemed not fit to continue, by the referee, the referee must immediately call a halt to the bout. If the fighter is deemed not fit to continue, by the referee, even though some of the 5 minute foul time is still remaining, the fighter cannot avail himself of the remaining time and the fight must be stopped.
   4. If the referee stops the contest and employs the use of the ringside doctor, the ringside physician’s examinations shall not exceed 5 minutes. If 5 minutes is exceeded, the fight cannot be re-started and the contest must end.

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