Section 7: Violations/Penalties
The following acts constitute fouls in a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts and may result in penalties, at the discretion of the referee, if committed:
- Butting with the head
- Eye gouging of any kind
- Biting or spitting at an opponent
- Fish hooking (inserting a finger or fingers into the mouth or nostrils of a person and pulling away from the centerline of the body)
- Hair pulling
- Spiking an opponent to the canvas on their head or neck
- Strikes to the spine or the back of the head
- Throat strikes of any kind, and/or grabbing the trachea
- Fingers outstretched toward an opponent's face or eyes
- Downward-pointing elbow strikes (the "12-to-6" elbow ban was removed effective November 1, 2024 — these strikes are now legal)
- Groin attacks of any kind
- Kneeing and/or kicking the head of a grounded opponent
- Stomping a grounded opponent
- Holding an opponent's gloves or shorts
- Holding or grabbing the fence or ropes with fingers or toes
- Small joint manipulation (targeting and manipulating the fingers or toes of the opponent)
- Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fighting area
- Intentionally placing a finger into any orifice, cut, or laceration of an opponent
- Clawing, pinching, or twisting the flesh of the opponent
- Timidity, including avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece, or faking an injury
- Using abusive language in the fighting area
- Flagrant disregarding of the referee's instructions
- Unsportsmanlike conduct that causes injury to an opponent
- Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat
- Attacking an opponent on or during the break
- Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
- Interference from a mixed martial artist's corner or seconds
Foul Assessment and Penalties
- Disqualification: Disqualification may occur after any combination of fouls or after a single flagrant foul, at the discretion of the referee.
- Point Deductions: Fouls may result in a point being deducted by the official scorekeeper from the offending competitor's score. The scorekeeper, not the judges, is responsible for calculating the true score after factoring in any point deduction.
- Referee Authority: Only a referee can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, judges must not make that assessment on their own and should not factor such conduct into their scoring calculations.
Accidental Fouls
When a foul is determined to be accidental (unintentional), the referee may pause the bout to allow the injured competitor time to recover. The amount of recovery time granted is at the discretion of the referee and the ringside physician. If the injured competitor cannot continue due to an accidental foul, the bout may be declared a No Contest or decided by the judges' scorecards depending on how many rounds have been completed, as determined by the applicable athletic commission's rules.