i) Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact unarmed combat sport that permits techniques from a range of disciplines, including, Boxing, Thai Boxing, Wrestling, Submission wrestling, Judo and Ju Jitsu. Techniques from any Martial or fighting art that are not deemed to be a foul in the following text may be used.
ii) The Cage / Octagon
1. Bouts take place in a fenced octagon.
2. The Octagon floor shall be covered with a protective, shock-absorbing mat at least 40mm in thickness, with a clean, tightly stretched canvas covering.
3. The Octagon covering shall be securely attached outside the cage sides.
4. The Octagon uprights and cross beams shall be covered with a smooth padded material.
5. The Octagon platform shall be solidly constructed, stable and level, and shall have no uneven areas.
6. The Octagon entrance/exit shall have locking bolts to hold it shut during competition.
7. A solid walkway shall be used to travel to and from the Octagon entrance/exit.
iii) Contestants
A contestant will not be allowed to compete within 28 days of their last fight.
A contestant listed to fight or the contestant's representative, MUST attend, at the scheduled time, the pre-bout rules meeting called, and given by the Referee or Chief Official. Interpreters should be available for those whose first language is not English.
A contestant listed to fight shall report to where the show is to take place no later than 1 hour before the beginning of the first bout.
A contestant listed on a program who is unable to fight for medical reasons shall provide a medical certificate to that effect and shall, at the chief official's request, undergo an examination by a physician designated by the show promoter.
iv) Medical cover
Two qualified physicians shall be assigned, who may stop a bout at any time, or in the case of a tournament, at the end of each bout, to examine a contestant and determine whether he is medically fit to continue. Where the physician is of the opinion that the contestant is not fit to continue the bout, he shall so inform the referee, who shall stop the bout.
At least 2 State Registered Paramedics will be present and will supply all necessary emergency first aid and trauma equipment (enough for both fighters), as well as an emergency vehicle for casualty evacuation.
The local hospital should be notified of the event taking place at least 24 hours in advance.
A qualified physician shall at all times be present at Octagon side during a bout.
v) Equipment authorised in corners
Each contestant may have only the following items in his corner:
1. Adrenalin 1:1000 solution
2. Petroleum jelly
3. Bottle of water - bottle to be of made of pliable material (not glass)
4. Sponge
5. Ice bag
6. Water spray bottle
7. White towel
8. Pair of round-tipped surgical scissors
9. Metal plate to reduce swelling
vi) Gloves
Only gloves authorised by Clash of Warriors prior to the competition may be used. Each glove shall be in good condition;
Gloves should not be used if:
a: The stuffing of a glove has shifted or has become compacted in places.
b: A glove is not clean.
c: The material covering a glove is not smooth or is altered in any way.
vii) Hand Wraps
Contestants may use medical gauze and tape to wrap hands. No tape is to cover the knuckles. No excessive wrapping will be permitted. Wrapping should not be rigid in any way. A Clash of Warriors official will inspect all hand wraps prior to contestants gloving up.
An Clash of Warriors official will check and sign all hand wraps prior to fighters putting on their gloves. The official will then tape and sign the gloves to ensure no tampering of the hand wraps can take place.viii) Contestants equipment
Contestants should wear suitable shorts. No other clothing is allowed.
A contestant shall not use grease or another substance on his face, head, arms or other parts of his body. He may use a small amount of petroleum jelly around the eyes, on the sides of the nose and behind the ears.
A contestant shall not wear any object made of hard material of any kind.
A contestant shall not wear hard contact lenses during a bout.
A contestant shall not wear a Gi.
ix) Weigh in
An official weigh-in shall take place 24 hours before the bouts begin, in the presence of the opponents and a Clash of Warriors official.
The official weigh-in shall be the responsibility of the promoter.
The promoter will use calibrated lever balance scales.
Any calibration of the scales should be made by a Clash of Warriors official prior to the weigh-in commencing, and should be witnessed by an independent person.
At an official weigh-in, the scales shall be placed on a hard, level surface.
x) Weight classes
1. The official Clash of Warriors weight classes are as follows:
- Flyweight under 125 lbs. 56.7kg
- Bantamweight under 135 lbs. 61.2kg
- Featherweight under 145 lbs. 65.8kg
- Lightweight under 155 lbs. 70.3kg
- Welterweight under 170 lbs. 77.1kg
- Middleweight under 185 lbs. 83.9kg
- Light Heavyweight under 205 lbs. 93kg
- Heavyweight under 265 lbs. 120.2kg
- Super Heavyweight all over 265 lbs. 120.2kg
2. The official Clash of Warriors weight allowance is 1 lb (0.5 kg).
xi) Corners
Only trainers and corner men authorised by Clash of Warriors shall be present in his contestant's corner during a bout. No more than 2 corner attendants may accompany him, except during a championship bout, in which case 3 corner attendants may accompany the contestant.
A Clash of Warriors official may remove from a corner a person whom he considers does not meet the requirements stipulated above or to be violating a provision of this Regulation.
The persons authorized to be in a corner shall remain seated at the foot of the octagon and shall not intervene in any way whatsoever to assist a contestant during rounds.
xii) Referee
A referee licensed by Clash of Warriors to the necessary level required shall officiate each bout.
The referee shall conduct a comprehensive Rules Meeting to ensure that all contestants fully understand the rules they are competing under and the penalties for breaking said rules. An interpreter should be used if necessary.
Before a bout, the Chief Referee shall meet with the contestants and shall give them his instructions. An interpreter should be used to ensure all contestants fully understand this meeting.
Before signalling the start of a bout, the referee shall see that the physician, 3 judges and at least 1 timekeeper are present at ringside.
During a bout, the referee shall use the following 3 commands:
1: «STOP» to order a contestant to stop fighting;
2: «FIGHT» to order a contestant to start or resume the bout. That order shall be given verbally and by hand signal;
3: «ACTION» to order a contestant to start working to avoid a break.
The referee may interrupt a bout at any time.
The referee can interrupt the fight at anytime when he feels there is not enough action. He must advise the fighters verbally prior to the interruption.
When there is a lack of action in a bout, or it reaches a stalemate situation, the referee may interrupt the bout at any time to resume the fight with both competitors standing.
Where the referee interrupts a bout and wants to indicate to a contestant that he must retire to a corner, the referee shall point his hand to instruct the contestant to retire to the farthest neutral corner.
Where a contestant deliberately and unnecessarily removes his mouthpiece, the referee shall deduct 1 point; if the contestant again removes his mouthpiece during the same bout, the referee may disqualify him.
Where a contestant accidentally loses his mouthpiece, the referee shall stop the bout immediately after the exchange of blows taking place and shall send the other contestant to a neutral corner. One of the persons authorised to be present in the corner of the contestant who has lost his mouthpiece shall clean the mouthpiece and give it back to the contestant.
The referee may stop the bout if he considers that one of the contestants is not doing his best to win or that both are not doing so. He may then disqualify either contestant or both contestants, in which case he shall make a report to the chief official explaining the reasons for his decision.
The referee may remove any person present in a contestant's corner where he considers that the person is acting in an unsuitable manner or interfering with the bout, and may deduct 1 or more points from the contestant or disqualify him.
Only the referee and the contestants shall be present in the Octagon during a round.
The referee shall stop the bout where the physician advises him that a contestant is no longer fit to continue.
The referee shall stop the bout immediately when a contestant is knocked out.
Where a contestant receives a foul blow, the referee may interrupt the bout and may allow him up to 5 minutes to recover. If the contestant cannot continue after this time for medical reasons, the following may occur:
If the foul blow was caused accidentally, the bout will go to the judges' scorecards, unless the bout has not reached the end of at least one round in which case it will be made a no contest.
If the blow was caused intentionally, the victim will be deemed the winner of the contest by way of disqualification.
xiii) Judges
Only judges authorised by Clash of Warriors may be used to score a contest.
The Judges must be in a position to view the complete contest and be free from distraction.
Each judge will score the contest independently.
xiv) Scoring
A 10 Point Must system will be used to score bouts. Each round of a contest is scored individually and if no submission or KO occurs, these are totalled up and a decision made.
The winner of a round will be awarded 10 points, and the loser 9 points or less. It is not possible for both fighters to score 10 points for a round.
Criteria that the judges will be assessing, in order of priority, are as follows: -
a. Effective Aggressiveness
This is determined as the fighter showing most effort to win. It is of no use to simply be aggressive. The fighter's effort must be effective effort.
b. Effective Technique
This area includes Striking, Clinch Work, Takedowns, Submission attempts, Transitioning, and Positioning.
c. Cage/ Ring Control
This is assessed by determining which fighter has used the fighting area to his / her advantage the most.
d. Defence / Escapes
This area includes avoiding and blocking of strikes, reversals from pins and mounts, escapes from submissions i.e. transitioning to avoid a submission, etc. etc.
The above areas are to be used in order of priority, and each consecutive area is only considered if the preceding one has been determined to be equal for both fighters. If a fighter dominates area ‘a' there is no need to assess area ‘b', and so on.
Judges should be well versed in all areas of MMA competition and techniques, and should show no bias to just one area, i.e. striking over submissions.
A head judge will be appointed at each contest. This judge will not score the contest directly, however it is his responsibility to ensure that the scoring is kept consistent and of a high standard. The head judge may ask for any of the other three judges to be replaced if they are found to be incompetent.
Point deduction: In the event of a foul, the referee may decide to deduct a point from the offending fighter.
xv) Decisions
Submission by:
a. Physical tap out
b. Verbal tap out
Knockout
Technical knockout by the referee stopping the contest.
Decision via the scorecards, including:
a. Unanimous decision
b. Majority decision
c. Unanimous draw
d. Majority draw
Technical decision.
Technical draw.
Disqualification.
Forfeit.
No contest.
Where both contestants are injured or have been knocked down simultaneously and are not able to resume the bout, the contestant leading on the scorecards shall be declared the winner.
Where a contestant is injured as a result of a legal blow and the bout cannot go on by reason of the seriousness of the injury, the referee shall interrupt the bout, shall consult the physician and, if the physician considers that the bout must be stopped, shall declare the injured contestant the loser by a technical knock-out.
Where the referee considers that a contestant is no longer able to defend himself or stand up to his opponent, he shall stop the bout and declare the opponent the winner by a technical knockout.
Where a contestant is disqualified, his opponent shall be declared the winner. If both contestants are disqualified, the decision shall be the disqualification of both contestants.
Where a contestant has been knocked down and cannot resume the bout, his opponent shall be declared the winner by a knockout.
The referee may interrupt or end a bout for exceptional reasons beyond his or the contestants' control. In such a case, he shall consult the chief official in making his decision as to the result of the bout.
Where a contestant does not report to the octagon after having received the order of an official, the official shall inform the referee. Where the contestant does not report to the octagon within a reasonable time, the referee shall declare the opponent the winner by default.
Where a contestant is cut as the result of an intentional foul and the bout cannot go on by reason of the seriousness of the cut, the offending contestant shall be disqualified.
Where a contestant is cut as the result of an unintentional foul and the bout cannot go on by reason of the seriousness of the cut, the referee shall make a technical decision, applied to the round during which the bout is stopped, in favour of the contestant who is leading on the score cards, including the score card for the round during which the bout is stopped. The first round must have been completed for a decision to be made; otherwise a no contest will be called. Where the bout can go on, the referee may deduct 1 or more points from the offending contestant, depending on the seriousness of the foul. The referee shall inform the judges and the chief official that the cut has been caused by an unintentional foul and that if the cut worsens as the result of a legal blow and causes the bout to be stopped, the decision must be made based on the score cards, including the score card for the round during which the bout is stopped. If the cut worsens as the result of an illegal blow and causes the bout to be stopped, the offending contestant shall lose by disqualification. A contestant shall be disqualified if, according to the referee, he has committed an intentional foul.
xvi) Fouls
During a contest, each of the following acts constitutes a foul:
1. Butting with the head
2. Eye gouging of any kind
3. Biting
4. Hair pulling
5. Fish-hooking
6. Groin attacks of any kind
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration of an opponent
8. Small joint manipulation. Control of a minimum of 4 digits is required
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head
10. Striking downward with the elbow
11. Striking the head of a downed opponent using the elbow. (Optional)
12. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
13. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
14. Grabbing the clavicle
15. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
16. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
17. Stomping a grounded opponent
18. Kicking to the kidney with the heel
19. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck
20. Throwing an opponent out of the fenced area
21. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
22. Spitting at an opponent
23. Engaging in any unsportsman like conduct
24. Holding the fence
25. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area
26. Attacking an opponent on or during the break
27. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
28. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of combat
29. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
30. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent
31. Intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
32. Interference by the corner men or coaches
33. No elbow standing
34. No elbow contact with ground
xvii) Inspection Stoppage
If a fighter on the ground sustains an injury (e.g., a cut) that in the referee's judgment must be evaluated immediately, the referee must stop the match and the fighters must remain in their strategic positions. The referee will evaluate the injury with the fighters in those positions. If he determines the injury is not serious, the match is continued with the fighters in those positions. If the referee needs a doctor's evaluation, he must remember the fighter's positions and then stand them up. If the doctor evaluates an injured fighter and determines the match can proceed, the referee must, if possible, put the fighters back into their previous strategic positions.
xviii) Duration of a Bout
The duration of Semi-Professional bouts will be 2 rounds of 5 minutes. The break between rounds will be 1 minute.
XIX. Appeals Procedure
An appeal against a decision must be brought to the attention of Clash of Warriors no later than 24 hours after the original decision has been made. An official appeal must be presented in writing to Clash of Warriors within 72 hours.
XX. Insurances
The promoter will ensure that the necessary public liability insurance is in place.
All outside contractors and services commissioned for the promotion must have their own insurances in for themselves, the public and their employees.