Legalization of 12-6 elbows has UFC featherweight excited
More than a few UFC fighters are excited to hear that the dreaded 12-6 elbow will soon be allowed in MMA fights effective November 2024. The downward vertical elbow strike, banned in nearly all MMA competitions around the world since the Unified Rules were created over two decades ago, has recently been legalized as per the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).
One UFC fighter, featherweight standout Dan Ige, is looking forward to dropping some 12-6 elbows in his next fight, writing on X:
"Can’t wait to drop a 12-6 to the dome 😂"
Ige was last seen in action as a replacement for Brian Ortega in a fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 303 last month. Ige reportedly took the fight at a catchweight in just a few hours notice. Yes, you read that right. Ige took a fight with a top-15 featherweight with just a few hours to prepare. Despite this, '50K' lasted the full three rounds and lost via a unanimous decision.
UFC president Dana White speaks up about the legalization of the 12-6 elbow in MMA
At the post-fight press conference of the recently concluded UFC 304, the company's president Dana White was asked what he thought of the legalization of 12-6 elbows and if he'd want Jon Jones' only loss overturned because of it.
UFC two-weight champ Jones' only official loss was due to disqualification via a 12-6 elbow, a decision White has been trying to overturn long before the ban was lifted.
White said:
"I've been trying to do that since it happened. I think I wanted it more than he did. So, it hasn't worked out too well though. I've been fighting for that for a long time. We had an incompetent referee... A guy who, we can all agree now, maybe I sounded like an a**hole back in the day, but now we can all look back and a hundred percent say that the guy was completely incompetent."
White continued:
"[The fight happened] At a time when Nevada State Athletic Commission was at its weakest, the guy who was running it was a zero. Mazzagatti should've never been in there and the list goes on and on... and that [DQ loss of Jones] should've been and should be overturned. I've been fighting for it for years."
Watch Dana White's statement as posted by Jed I. Goodman on X: