Yahoo: Elbows to a grounded opponent: Should they be allowed?

[Clark Kent]

03-23-2010 03:48 PM:

In the past month, two Zuffa headliner fights were ended by elbows. First, Joseph Benavidez used an elbow to open a massive cut on Miguel Torres' forehead. The blood that poured out from that cut helped Benavidez secure the rear naked choke to get the submission.

Then on Sunday, Jon Jones quickly ended his bout with Brandon Vera with a vicious elbow that ended up breaking Vera's face in three places.

This brings up the question: how much is too much? Should elbows be allowed?

Elbows to a downed opponent are not allowed in Strikeforce, and it's something their fighters appreciate because of the lack of long-term damage. They're also not allowed in Japan, and Takanori Gomi is concerned about how this new weapon will affect him when he takes the cage against Kenny Florian.

At the same time, they're valuable for fighters who are known to finish fights, Florian and Jones in particular. Also, it's MMA, not a tea party. If we sanitize it too much, it will no longer resemble the sport we love.

What do you think? Should elbows to a downed opponent be allowed?



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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.