UFC 124: St. Pierre v Koscheck II (Saturday, Dec. 11 – PPV)
ok, question. Why are the rules set like this then?
Is there a specific reason?
I'm not sure exactly why, but I'd guess it has to do with sanctioning and how when the Fertitas and Dana White went to State Athletic Commissions looking for legitimacy they tailored their rules to fit in with what the Commissions understood.
No time limits were deemed "too savage", as were beating a guy on the ground and fighting bare-knuckled. Gis were outlawed because of a perceived advantage for the opponent being able to hold it (even though a decent BJJ player can use it as a weapon), and wrestling shoes were eventually outlawed. Though in early UFC events if the fighter wore wrestling shoes he couldn't throw kicks. Weight classes were also introduced to make the sport more palatable for the Commissions, whereas early UFC events were all open weight events. Tournament formats were eventually banned as well.
I think the rules came to be out of an understanding of what us Westerners perceive sport-fighting should be. Rounds are essential. Gloves should be worn. Punches are the preferred technique. Taking someone down is good, no matter how well they fight off their back.
And now that the rules are fairly cemented in place, and the sport is attracting good athletes instead of 50 year old karate school owners, you're getting trainers who understand how to tailor a fight plan to take advantage of the rules and are happy with decision victories as opposed to KOs or submissions.
Also, most of the people going into MMA, and the guys that fostered it in its infancy all had a wrestling background, either in high school or college. Matt Hughes was a wrestler. Pat Miletich was a wrestler. Chuck Liddell was a wrestler. Tito was a wrestler. Mark Coleman was a very good wrestler. Dan Severn was a wrestler. Etc. These are all guys that fought in the UFC in the early days and helped shape what American MMA is today.
If it were up to me, I'd lose the rounds and instead just have a 15 minute fight. I'd have judges that have experience in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Catch Wrestling or Submission Wrestling instead of boxing judges. I'd have the judges emphasize aggression and attempts to end the fight rather than control of an opponent in factoring who won the fight. I'd probably disallow elbows on the ground. And I'd give serious consideration to losing the gloves.