Strikeforce
Strikeforce to adopt Unified Rules, elbows on the ground to be legalized
Mar 14, 2011 - 4:35:47 PM Strikeforce to adopt Unified Rules, elbows on the ground to be legalized

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

While there are many questions that remain unanswered in the early stages of Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, one big change for Strikeforce was revealed during a media conference call on Monday.

According to Zuffa owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, they will be implementing the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts in Strikeforce, removing Strikeforce's previous rule set.

Strikeforce's modified rule set made elbows on the ground illegal, but that will no longer be the case. It wasn't made clear whether that change will be immediately implemented, though that is likely to be the case.

Strikeforce's next event is the 15th edition of their "Challengers" series on April 1, airing live on Showtime from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.

Penick's Analysis: This is a great change for Strikeforce. Disallowing elbows on the ground was a detriment to ground and pound fighters, as it took away a major weapon from their arsenal once the fight hit the ground. We've seen it demonstrated as a vicious tool with the ability to end fights, perhaps most notably just from Jon Jones in two fights in 2010, and it's something that would have been useful to many fighters under Strikeforce's employ in the past. With the Unified Rules in place, that tool is back in play for a lot of fighters.