RULES & REGULATIONS
Modified MMA is a professional stand-up striking discipline. No grappling, no wrestling, no ground game — just stand-up combat at its finest.
1. COMPETITION FORMAT
- Bouts are conducted in a five-rope boxing ring
- Fighters wear 4 oz. MMA-style gloves inspected and approved by the Commission
- Fighters will wear appropriate footwear for boxing competition
- Modified MMA is a stand-up striking discipline — wrestling, takedowns, submissions, kicks, knees, and ground grappling are prohibited
2. LEGAL STRIKING TECHNIQUES
- Closed-fist punches
- Elbows
- Spinning backfists
- Superman punches
- All strikes must land to legal target areas
- Strikes to the back of the head, spine, groin, or throat are prohibited
3. CLINCH RULES
- Clench contact is permitted only for brief striking exchanges
- Wrestling, takedowns, throws, trips, sweeps, submissions, over-under hooks, prolonged holding, and stalling are prohibited
- The referee will promptly break an inactive clinch
- Repeated clinch violations may result in warnings and point deductions
4. KNOCKDOWNS & THREE-SECOND GROUND-AND-POUND
- When a fighter is downed by a legal strike, the attacker may continue with ground-and-pound with both feet planted on the canvas for up to three seconds
- If the attacker cannot finish after three seconds, the referee steps in and stands the downed fighter back up
- The referee may stop the contest if the downed fighter cannot intelligently defend or continue
- The attacker may not kneel, mount, follow the opponent to the ground, or strike from a grounded position
5. BOUT DURATION
- Non-title bouts: 3 rounds × 3 minutes
- One-minute rest period between rounds
6. DECISION AFTER SCHEDULED ROUNDS
- If a three-round bout is not stopped before the end of Round 3, the result is determined by the judges' scorecards
- No mandatory extra round will be conducted
7. FOULS / PROHIBITED TECHNIQUES
- Takedowns, throws, trips, sweeps, or slams
- Ground grappling or positional fighting
- Submissions, chokes, or joint locks
- Kicks of any kind
- Knee strikes
- Mounted or kneeling ground-and-pound
- Following an opponent to the ground
- Strikes to back of head, spine, groin, or throat
- Prolonged clinching, holding, or stalling
- Any grounded strike not allowed under the three-second rule
8. REFEREE AUTHORITY & FIGHTER SAFETY
- The referee has full authority to stop the contest at any time when a fighter cannot intelligently defend, is unable to continue, or shows compromised balance, awareness, or responsiveness
- The referee may issue warnings, deduct points, separate fighters, stand a downed fighter up after the three-second period, or disqualify a fighter for serious or repeated fouls
- Ringside physicians retain full authority under applicable Commission medical protocols
9. MEDICAL & REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
- Pre-bout medical examinations, ringside physician oversight, post-bout medical suspensions, and concussion/injury protocols apply
- Gloves, officials, medical requirements, and bout administration are subject to Commission approval and oversight