Sanctioning and Rules Controversy
On February 12, 2009, reports surfaced that province regulators ("Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux", or RACJ) requested a set of rule changes that differ from the Unified Rules of MMA put the event at risk from taking place. The proposed rule changes banned elbow and knee strikes, mandated a smaller cage, and would stop a fight when a fighter gets knocked down. Before, the RACJ has followed the Unified Rules, but as laws differ by city, state, or province, a commission can insist on the usage of its own rules.
On February 18, 2009, it was announced that UFC officials were able to convince the RACJ to reverse its stand and use the Unified Rules. As a concession, the UFC agreed to the banning of foot stomps for this event.
Read more about this topic: UFC 97
Famous quotes containing the words rules and/or controversy:
“A man often thinks he rules himself, when all the while he is ruled and managed; and while his understanding directs one design, his affections imperceptibly draw him into another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)