MMA Moveset Evolution: UpKick Unbalance

The next illegal strike that should be legal

“Every system is perfect until the first man dares to defy it.”
— Otto von Bismarck

The sport has changed. The rulebook just hasn’t caught up yet.

At UFC 316, Julianna Peña had a point deducted for throwing up-kicks at Kayla Harrison while Harrison was in a grounded position. The kicks landed. The penalty came. And just like that, one of the most common-sense legalizations in MMA was back in the spotlight, and still stuck in the stone age.

Peña’s illegal strike wasn’t malicious. It was reflexive, defensive, and born from the same instinct that tells you to throw a jab when someone enters your range. But in MMA, what comes naturally is often what gets you penalized. Meanwhile, elbows dropped straight down from twelve to six o’clock, once the sacred cow of illegal strikes, are now green-lit because we’ve evolved.

So let’s evolve again.

The Rulebook is Cracking at the Seams

In November 2024, the ABC voted to legalize 12-to-6 elbows, finally admitting what every fighter and coach already knew: they were never more dangerous than any other elbow. The only reason they were banned to begin with? A 1990s-era misconception that elbows thrown downward could shatter skulls. That myth died. The rule just took three decades to follow.

Now, the definition of a grounded opponent has been reworked too; gone are the days where placing a single fingertip on the mat made you untouchable. If you’re going to protect yourself, you better earn it.

So what’s still illegal in this new era of rule reform?

Up-kicks.

Specifically, up-kicks to the head of a grounded opponent. It’s the last vestige of a framework that no longer makes sense. And UFC 316 exposed it on a global stage.

The UFC’s Darkhorse Dauphin

UFC 316: A Case Study in Contradictions

Peña wasn’t the only story at UFC 316. The night was packed with violent, spectacular finishes:

• Merab Dvalishvili submitted Sean O’Malley to become one of only three fighters in UFC history to win 13 straight.

• Kayla Harrison dominated Peña before the illegal strike, and finished her with a second-round kimura that felt like a warning shot to Amanda Nunes.

• JooSang Yoo made his name known with a 28-second knockout that might’ve just launched a new star.

• Kevin Holland, Joe Pyfer, and Mario Bautista all secured finishes in a card that moved fast and hit harder.

And yet, the most controversial moment of the night wasn’t a punch or a choke, it was a kick. A kick that isn’t allowed, even though it probably should be.

Erik’s Combat Sports Law Lens

This isn’t just about aesthetics or action. It’s about logic… and liability.

Erik Magraken, the voice behind CombatSportsLaw.com, has long argued that the sport’s rules must be based on consistent risk standards and legal defensibility. His writing has influenced regulators across North America, and his critique of the sport’s rule inconsistencies couldn’t be more relevant today.

“If you design a sport with intentional and undefended blows to the head, you are going to get brain injury. That is not a bug. That’s the sport.”

He wasn’t criticizing MMA. He was explaining why clarity matters. If you allow knees from the clinch, if you allow 12-to-6 elbows now, if you allow hammer fists to the back of the ear, you can’t reasonably argue that an up-kick is some kind of aberration. You either allow head strikes in logical ways, or you don’t.

Right now, MMA is picking and choosing.

The Strategic Value of the Up-Kick

Let’s talk tactics.

In the modern game, fighters who play guard are often punished, not just by damage, but by the referee. You’re on your back? Get up or get separated.

Allowing up-kicks would give grounded fighters more tools, not fewer. It punishes lazy top control. It creates hesitation in opponents who want to grind without risk. It brings back a form of open guard that fans remember from PRIDE. And it forces athletes to think, not stall.

Legalizing up-kicks isn’t just fair, but strategic as well. It’s smarter MMA that helps fighters and fans win.

The Precedent Has Been Set

Let’s be honest: this isn’t a dangerous rule change. It’s an overdue correction. And the sport has already shown it can make those changes:

• 12-to-6 elbows: legalized.

• Grounded fighter loopholes: closed.

• Scoring criteria: adjusted for damage-first interpretation.

Up-kicks are the next domino. UFC 316 gave us the visual: a seasoned champion penalized for doing what any fighter might do in that moment. Now the commissions and the ABC need to do what they did with elbows.

Take the myth off the books. Put the sport first.

What Are We Protecting?

If this were 2008, you might still hear arguments about “optics” or “fighter safety” or “how that kick might look to the general public.” But this is 2025. The public sees spinning elbows, flying knees, and grounded elbows on ESPN. The public doesn’t need protection. Fighters do.

And giving them up-kicks does exactly that.

Recent fight cards have proved that fighters are adapting. Commissions are evolving. The fans are ready.

“Justice is not found in silence, but in the willingness to redraw the line.”
— Frederick Douglass

The rulebook just needs to catch up…again.

Up-kicks aren’t dirty. They’re overdue.

Let them kick.