POLL: Should Head-First Slams Be Banned In MMA?

[Perennial]

I don't think any of us want to see a fighter lose their ability to move from the neck down, but it seems inevitable if head-first slams remain legal in MMA...


I'm no doctor, but it looks like Fedor came within an inch or two of never being able to walk again...



Here's Rose almost losing more than just her belt...



And while this broken neck was the result of a poorly executed flying armbar rather than a head-first slam, for those of you wanting to see what it looks like when a fighter breaks their neck in competition, well, here's your chance...

Click to read more...

 

[CDJ]

I ultimately don’t have a problem with how Rose was slammed but I don’t think piledrivers should be allowed in MMA, no

 

[Chaels Arms]

Always scares the **** out of me when I see it coming and definitely something I could do without seeing.

 

[pistolpete11]

I'd be OK with them being banned. We see it so infrequently anyway that it wouldn't effect the product much at all and if it protects fighters and us from seeing someone die or get paralyzed, then sure.

There is a difference between the Andrade-Rose slam and a piledriver. I think there's even already a rule on the books regarding that, but saying a piledriver was 'accidental' because they were trying to go for a 'legal' slam doesn't really do any good for the guy/gal that ends up dead or paralyzed. How many times have we seen fighters say they didn't mean to throw illegal strikes, but it's so hectic in a fight. Yan-Sterling comes to mind as does Alvarez-Poirier (twice, actually). So yeah, I'd be fine to remove the gray area and ban them. Don't leave it up to fighters to determine the trajectory of a slam during a fight.

 

[chicagoskycam]

It's just so rare I don't even think it's worth the UFC reviewing the rule. You can't even really say Jessica is attempting to head slam Rose but that's how it ended up. How do you determine intent? Rose should have let go of that hold to protect herself. You would have to ban throws altogether.

 

[Perennial]

It's just so rare I don't even think it's worth the UFC reviewing the rule. You can't even really say Jessica is attempting to head slam Rose but that's how it ended up. How do you determine intent? Rose should have let go of that hold to protect herself. You would have to ban throws altogether.

It just takes one...

And when that one does happen they'll immediately change the rule anyway, so why wait?

 

[Moncherry]

They already are banned, it's referred to as 'spiking' in the rule book. A suplex is not deliberately spiking someone's head into the ground. I've seen a lot more examples of suplexes where the receiver wasn't dropped on their head than otherwise. There's potential for a nasty incident but there's also a risk for severe injury with other legal moves/strikes, so unless you ban suplexes altogether I don't see how you can totally prevent instances like the Fedor/Rose slams.

 

[Perennial]

They already are banned, it's referred to as 'spiking' in the rule book. A suplex is not deliberately spiking someone's head into the ground. I've seen a lot more examples of suplexes where the receiver wasn't dropped on their head than otherwise. There's potential for a nasty incident but there's also a risk for severe injury with other legal moves/strikes, so unless you ban suplexes altogether I don't see how you can totally prevent instances like the Fedor/Rose slams.

Just like in hockey, the head cannot be the principle point of contact with a hit... the same rule would apply with slams

If you're gonna slam someone, it's on you to ensure their head doesn't hit first

 

[chicagoskycam]

Just like in hockey, the head cannot be the principle point of contact with a hit... the same rule would apply with slams

If you're gonna slam someone, it's on your to ensure their head doesn't hit first

That's absolutely ridiculous as is this entire thread. lol.

 

[MD thaivuN]

spiking is already banned. In case like Rose and Fedor, the slammed fighter put themselves in a bad position committing to kimura locks. at one point, you also don't want to reward bad decision making.

suplexes are already low-percentage high-risk (of gassing) moves enough, I doubt there's ever a need to revise the spiking rule. Shit is less meta than leg locks and oblique kicks.