Final Fight Championship (FFC) announced significant changes in 2016 and the most important change is the one regarding the events in the US. The leading European fighting sports promotion is to hold 12 events this year, 6 in Europe and 6 in the US.
Along with the expansion, there will be some technical novelties that the promotion is about to implement regarding the MMA rules. It is well known that the Athletic Commissions are regulatory bodies in charge of all the fighting sports promotions that want to organize any kind of fighting sports competition in the USA. Moreover, Athletic Commissions in the United Stated recognize only unified MMA rules.
In order to adapt the US regulations, the FFC will have to change its MMA rules and thus adopt the unified MMA rules, like those in the UFC.
FFC so far followed the legendary Pride rules, which was a kind of a trademark of this Croatian organization. Soccer kicks, stomps and knees to the head were common in the FFC. In 2016 this elements of the fight will not be allowed in the arena. However, elbows will be introduced as a new element. The upcoming FFC in Athens that is to take place February 19 will already be in accordance with the new rules. It should not pose a problem to the FFC referee Grant Waterman who already worked with the UFC and is well familiar with the unified MMA rules.
The news on new rules and regulations is also confirmed by the organization’s owner and President Orsat Zovko.
“There will be certain changes in the FFC in 2016, as we already announced. The most significant change will be events in the US. Sports regulations in the USA are strict and if you want to hold an event there, you have to adapt to their rules. Final Fight Championship had no choice but to give up on the so called ‘Pride rules’ that were our trademark so far,” said Zovko and added:
“The most significant novelty will be elbows that are allowed according to the unified MMA rules that we are about to implement in the FFC. We cannot have different rules in Europe and this was a compromise we had to accept. We did not have much choice. But I believe this nuances would not cause drastic changes or problems for the fighters. It will always be about the quality of their performance. However, we will try to keep one part of our identity and not swap the ring for cage.”