Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett proposed major changes to the unified rules of MMA. Barnett feels that today’s fighters have outgrown the current rules and believes it is time to change things up.
Under the current ruleset, UFC fights are contested in three five-minute rounds for non-title fights. Title fights and certain marquee fights, meanwhile, consist of five five-minute rounds.
Barnett, a former UFC heavyweight champion and veteran fighter, believes that longer rounds and elimination of weight-cutting could address key issues. He made a case for the rule changes and explained why he feels they could be positive for the sport.
Ex-UFC Champion Proposes Major Rule Changes in MMA
Josh Barnett proposed two major rule changes and explained why they would not be difficult for fighters to adjust to. According to the former UFC heavyweight champion, longer rounds could encourage fighters to pursue a finish.
Barnett admitted that he planned to implement longer rounds for his own upstart promotion at one point.
“I’m really against five-minute rounds for fighting. I think we’ve grown way past that and now it’s back to we need 10-minute, 15 [minute], something like that. [Five minutes is] way too little,” Barnett told The Ariel Helwani Show.
“When [my team and I] were shopping our product, not only did it have no weight-cutting because we had same-day weigh-ins, we also had a one-night tournament. We would be hampered by five-minute rounds, but I would go ten [minutes] first [round], five [minutes the following rounds]. Or, even potentially 15 [minutes] straight like the UFC did for a minute plus and then overtime,” Barnett said.
Barnett Says Adjusting to Longer Rounds Would Be Easy
Barnett also discussed the potential difficulties fighters could face when adjusting to longer rounds. While longer rounds may seem like a difficult transition, the former heavyweight disagrees with that notion.
On the contrary, Barnett feels that the adjustment would not be too difficult for the fighters’ bodies. He also pointed out that there are some fighters who train with an intention to go the distance anyway.
As a result, Barnett believes that changing the duration of rounds could be a positive decision.
“No, [it’s not too much on the body]. I mean, look at it, these guys are basically gaming to go three five-minute rounds most of the time anyway. They’re not really looking to finish unless it’s a kickboxing finish. Most of MMA is just a bunch of kickboxing fights now,” Barnett said.
Barnett also revealed that he is a fan of RIZIN. The Japan-based promotion has built their own identity with their own ruleset, which is similar to the one used by Pride FC.
While rule changes seem like an easy decision, the UFC would need approval from each state’s respective athletic commission. That approval would ensue that they could host events without any pushback or unexpected hurdles. As a result, it is unlikely that the MMA leader would consider any major rule changes.
Ex-UFC Champion Proposes Major Rule Changes in MMA