UFC commentator Joe Rogan has called for a major rule change in MMA after witnessing what he believed to be "blatant cheating" at UFC 314.
The latest UFC card emanated from the Kaysea Center in Miami and saw Alexander Volkanovski recapture the UFC featherweight championship in the main event after a historic unanimous decision victory against Diego Lopes.
Paddy Pimblett took his ascension in UFC to the next level by moving into the top 10 lightweight rankings with a stunning victory over Michael Chandler in the co-main event, putting him away via TKO in the third round.
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But earlier on during the preliminary card, there was controversy in the bout between Yan Xiaonan and Virna Jandiroba in the women's strawweight division.
Jandiroba secured a dominant unanimous decision victory in the contest to make it five wins in a row, with all three judges scoring it 30-27 on their scorecards.
Xiaonan was well beaten courtesy of Jandiroba's superior grappling but the referee had to issue a warning to her for grabbing the face in a bid to avoid a takedown in the final round.
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The illegal tactic was deployed by Conor McGregor against Khabib Nurmagomedov but it is once of Rogan's biggest pet hates in the sport he loves so much.
On commentary alongside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, he called out Xiaonan for "blatant, long-holding, clearly cheating".
The podcaster is never afraid to speak his mind and even though Jandiroba did actually succeed in landing the teakdown, he came up with a way to stop illegal maneuvers such as fence-grabbing and eye pokes.
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Simply put, the 57-year-old believes automatic point deductions will deter fighters going forward.
On commentary, Rogan said: "If it was just an immediate, automatic point deduction every time you grabbed the fence, there would be no more fence grabs. And eye pokes. It would all stop. They would close the hand every time they reach out to try and create space.”
Though grabbing the fence is discouraged, it is ultimately up to the referee to judge whether the fighter has committed a foul that warrants a sanction.
Joe Rogan had rule change suggestion rejected by UFC
Rogan is full of opinions when it comes to MMA and when Endeavour bought the UFC, he told Ari Emanuel that weight cuts should be stopped completely and more weight classes br brought in.
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“I think weight-cutting should be eliminated,” Rogan said on an episode of his podcast with UFC lightweight fighter Jiri Prochazka.
“I said this to Ari Emanuel when they first bought the UFC.
"I said, ‘Listen man, you know what you should do? Get rid of weight-cutting, just stop it. Look, If you can randomly test people for drugs, you can randomly test their weight. Show up with a scale, say. ‘Hey, buddy. Step on the scale, you’re 190 pounds, how the f*ck are you making 145?’ Do something like that.
“And come up with more weight classes. There should be a weight class every 10 pounds."
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The change was not implemented, however, with strict weight cuts still part of the agenda for fighters.
Josh Lawless