The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) approved a clear-cut recommendation for replay use last week at its annual meeting in Connecticut. The proposal was brought to the ABC body by the MMA rules and regulations committee.
It’s important to note that the newly approved guidelines are just that: guidelines. They will not be codified regulations in the Unified Rules of MMA, because many shows are not televised and don’t have the technological ability to implement official instant replay. Like in the case of the Unified Rules, no state athletic commission is bound by ABC policies.
The new guidelines regarding instant replay state that it can only be used in “fight-ending sequences,” like the one with Mousasi and Weidman at UFC 210. A referee, at his or her discretion, can check a replay to determine whether or not a foul or legal blow ended the fight. The referee can use that information to decide the result — the winner, whether the fight is a TKO, submission, no contest or disqualification.
Instant replay will not be used to review the actions of the referee, the guideline states. Also, if instant replay is used that means the fight is over. No matter what is culled from the replay, the fight cannot be restarted.
“The sole purpose of Instant Replay in MMA is to allow the referee to make a correct call on the outcome of the fight in calling,” the proposal from the rules and regulations committee to the ABC states.
ABC passes guidelines for instant replay use in MMA, more
