California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster is pushing for two significant rule changes in MMA, arguing the sport’s current approach to fouls and dangerous legal techniques both need an overhaul.
Andy Foster Says Eye Pokes Need Point Deductions, Not Just Warnings in MMA
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Foster made the case that fighters currently have little incentive to avoid eye pokes, and the data backs that up.
“I saw some study where the fighter who eye pokes has a better chance of winning. At some point, we’ve absolutely got to start taking points for these eye pokes, and I believe behavior will change. That’s an enforcement issue. I think the rules are already there. It’s really just enforcement,” Foster said.
Foster has also floated reclassifying fouls into three tiers, incidental, reckless, or malicious, rather than the current intentional-versus-unintentional system, arguing that shift would encourage fighters to keep their hands closed and cut down on eye pokes specifically.
Andy Foster Explains Why He Believes It’s Time to Ban Oblique Kicks in MMA
Foster is also targeting a second, entirely legal technique: the oblique kick, a lateral strike to the knee popularized by Jon Jones that’s banned in most gyms during sparring but remains legal in competition.
“This is a kick that has a long, long healing time and can really have a lifelong effect. Fighters have a short window… Somebody could have a lifelong injury from this… It’s not worth it. I don’t think the public loses anything if this kick is banned. There are plenty of other techniques if you’re using it for distance. There are other things that we’ve banned over the years. I think it’s time,” Foster said.
Where the Push Stands
Foster first raised the possibility of banning oblique and lateral knee kicks in MMA during a CSAC debrief following UFC 331, where Edmen Shahbazyan had complained about Brunno Ferreira using the currently legal technique. The discussion also referenced Ian Garry’s claim that his oblique kicks worsened Shavkat Rakhmonov’s pre-existing knee injury during their UFC 310 fight, although Rakhmonov has said he entered that bout already dealing with a significant knee issue.
Dana White has publicly backed Foster’s authority to pursue the proposed change, saying, “we don’t disagree.” UFC veteran Matt Brown has pushed back against the idea, arguing that allowing every potentially dangerous technique to be banned could turn MMA into “an eye-poking and dick-kicking contest.” The proposed rule change remains under discussion, with no formal timeline announced for making lateral knee kicks a foul.
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