The California State Athletic Commission signalled it will consider changing fight rules after a review of events at UFC 331, putting oblique and lateral knee strikes squarely under scrutiny. Commissioners spent the debrief examining officiating and in-ring incidents from the Los Angeles card, and the meeting included disclosure of fighter purses, with Alexandre Pantoja listed as the top earner at $650,000.
The commission's critique of officiating included sharp comments from CSAC chair Andy Foster about judging on the night. Foster targeted judge Ron McCarthy, saying McCarthy scoring round four for Van was "not possible," describing that call as part of the post-event review that prompted the wider rule discussion.
The debate over oblique knee attacks has intensified after a series of fighters suffered lasting damage when struck in the knee area, the commission noted, including Shavkat Rakhmonov and Modestas Bukauskas. UFC commentator Joe Rogan has previously argued that the manoeuvre should be illegal on safety grounds, a view that helped frame the conversation at the CSAC meeting.
Confusion over how to treat the technique resurfaced during the prelims when Brunno Ferreira landed multiple lateral knee-directed strikes on Edmen Shahbazyan. Shahbazyan, who asked the referee to stop the contest believing the blows were unlawful, acknowledged the uncertainty afterwards, saying, "So I guess I was mistaken, I didn't know you can directly hit straight on the knee, I thought it was an illegal move just from prior days, I guess it's not so it's my fault."
Foster told commissioners he wants to pursue making lateral knee strikes a foul and to bring medical experts into conversations about peptide rules. Commissioners discussed the prospect of permitting certain non-performance-enhancing peptides that speed healing of cuts, provided specialists conclude they do not confer a competitive advantage.
No rule change was announced at the meeting. The CSAC appears poised to continue consultations with referees, judges and independent medical advisers before deciding whether to formally redefine or ban specific knee strikes and to clarify which therapeutic peptides, if any, will be permitted under state regulation.
