Section Box 701.01 - Professional Mixed Martial Arts(a) All professional mixed martial arts competitions shall be conducted in compliance with Box 701, which shall be known as the New Hampshire Professional MMA Unified Rules.(b) The following techniques shall be legal when fighting from the standing position: (1) All hand, elbow, except for "12 to 6", and shoulder strikes to approved targets;(2) Kicks to head, body, and legs;(3) Knees to head, body, and legs;(5) All throws and takedowns, except any technique that spikes an opponent onto his or her head.(c) A standing fighter may kick a downed opponent in the body and legs if and only if the downed fighter is flat on his or her back or sitting in the open guard position.(d) All kicks from a standing fighter to a grounded opponent shall have an arcing motion.(e) The following techniques shall be legal when both fighters are fighting on the ground: (1) All submissions except small joint manipulations such as attacking less than 3 fingers;(2) All hand, shoulder and elbow strikes to approved targets;(3) Knees to body and legs only on ground; and(4) Slamming an opponent to the mat, except a fighter shall not spike an opponent onto his or her head.(f) A fighter shall be considered on the ground, or grounded, if anything other than the soles of his or her feet are touching the mat.(g) A grounded fighter may kick up at a standing fighter to his or her body, legs, and head if the grounded fighter is on his or her back or is in open guard.(h) No heel-to-kidney kicks shall be permitted from the guard position. Kicks between grounded opponents shall be permitted to the body and legs only.(i) The following techniques are prohibited and considered fouls by the referee:(1) Butting with the head;(2) Eye gouging of any kind;(3) Biting or spitting at an opponent;(6) Groin attacks of any kind;(7) Intentionally placing a finger in any opponent's bodily orifice;(8) Small joint manipulation;(9) Strikes to the spine or the back of the head, defined as the area behind a 1-inch centerline from the crown of the head descending down the head to the tops of the ears, including the base of the skull and the nape of the neck;(10) Elbow strikes from the top of the head to the spine area;(11) Heel kicks to the kidney;(12) Throat strikes of any kind;(13) Clawing, pinching, twisting of flesh or grabbing of clavicle;(14) Kicking the head of a grounded fighter;(15) Knees to the head on the ground;(16) Use of language in the fighting area that would offend or anger a reasonable person;(17) Any conduct that would be considered unsportmanlike because it would be considered disrespectful to another participant, official or member of the public by a reasonable person;(18) Attacking an opponent during a break;(19) Attacking an opponent who is under the referee's care at the time;(20) Timidity, such as avoiding contact, or consistent dropping of mouthpiece, or faking an injury;(21) Interference from the fighter's cornermen;(22) Throwing an opponent out of the fighting area;(23) Flagrant disregard for the referee's instructions;(24) Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his or her head;(25) Using bodily fluids as an offensive weapon;(26) Grabbing the ropes or the fence; and(27) Grabbing an opponent's shorts or grabbing inside an opponent's gloves.(j) At the referee's discretion, the referee shall issue a single warning to a fighter who commits a foul.(k) After the initial single warning, if the prohibited conduct persists, a penalty shall be issued. The penalty shall result in a deduction of one point by the official scorekeeper from the offending fighter's score(l) If a second foul is committed after a warning has been issued, a disqualification shall be issued by the referee.(m) The referee shall be the sole arbitrator of these rules during a fight and the only one who can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, the judges shall not make that assessment on their own and shall not factor such into their scoring.(n) A referee shall disqualify a fighter and terminate a fight when, in his or her opinion, the foul committed by the fighter was intentional, flagrant or dangerous.(o) If a referee stops a fight due to excessive bleeding or blood interfering with fighter safety, timekeeping for the round shall be stopped, and the attending doctor shall determine if the fight can continue.(p) If a fighter cannot continue due to excessive bleeding caused by a legal blow, a technical knock out shall be declared by the referee.(q) If a fighter cannot continue due to excessive bleeding caused by an unintentional foul blow, then:(1) The bout shall result in a no contest if stopped before 2 rounds have been completed in a 3 round bout or if stopped before 3 rounds have been completed in a 5 round bout;(2) If stopped after 2 rounds have been completed in a 3 round bout, or after 3 rounds have been completed in a 5 round bout, the bout shall result in a technical decision awarded to the fighter who is ahead on the scorecards at the time the bout is stopped; and(3) If a fighter cannot continue due to bleeding caused by an intentional illegal blow or technique, the fighter throwing the illegal blow or technique shall be disqualified, and the fighter receiving the blow wins by disqualification.(r) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul is severe enough to terminate a bout, the contestant causing the injury loses by disqualification.(s) If an unintentional low blow to the groin is thrown and the referee sees it, the fighter receiving the blow may be allowed up to 5 minutes to regain composure, in the referee's sole discretion. The 5-minute injury time shall be only applicable to groin fouls.(t) If the injured fighter is unable to continue, the bout shall result in a no contest if stopped before 2 rounds have been completed in a 3 round bout or if stopped before 3 rounds have been completed in a 5 round bout.(u) If stopped after 2 rounds have been completed in a 3 round bout, or after 3 rounds have been completed in a 5 round bout, the bout shall result in a technical decision awarded to the fighter who is ahead on the judges' scorecards at the time the bout is stopped.(v) There shall be no scoring of an incomplete round. However, if the referee penalizes either contestant, then the appropriate points shall be deducted when the scorekeeper calculates the final score.(w) All fights shall be 3 rounds of 5 minutes each, except championship title fights, which shall be 5 rounds of 5 minutes each, all with a one minute rest period in between rounds.(x) All fights shall be scored by the judges on the Ten Point Must System, with the winning fighter awarded 10 points and the losing fighter receiving 9 points or less.(y) The following objective scoring criteria shall be used by the judges when scoring a round: (1) 10-9 rounds shall be awarded when a contestant wins by a close margin, landing the greater number of effective legal strikes, grappling and other maneuvers;(2) 10-8 rounds shall be awarded when a contestant overwhelmingly dominates his or her opponent by striking or grappling; and(3) 10-7 rounds shall be awarded when a contestant totally dominates his or her opponent by striking or grappling.(z) There shall be no overtime rounds without prior authorization by the commission.(aa) A fighter shall be responsible for the behavior of his or her cornermen and may be disqualified for unsportsmanlike corner behavior.(ab) A fighter's taped hands shall be approved and signed by a commissioner or deputy inspector prior to the fight. Gloves shall not be placed on a fighter's hands until such approval has been granted. The wrap on each contestant's hand shall be restricted to soft gauze, shall not cover the knuckles, shall not be excessive and shall not be more than 2 inches in width. Either one strip of surgeon's tape or gauze, but not both, shall be allowed between the fingers. Fighters shall have one wrap of tape around glove closure to be applied by a commissioner or deputy inspector.(ac) The promoter shall provide identical gloves to all fighters, except that they may vary in color.(ad) No shirts shall be worn during a fight, except by female fighters.(ae) Each fighter shall wear MMA shorts, board shorts, or kickboxing shorts. No pockets or zippers or exterior strings shall be allowed.(af) Traditional martial arts gis shall be prohibited during competition.(ag) Fingernails and toenails shall be neatly trimmed.(ah) Hair shall be trimmed or tied back in such a manner as not to interfere with the vision of either fighter or cover any part of the fighter's face.(ai) All contestants shall have clean bodies and hair.(aj) Any knee or ankle supports shall be soft and have no exterior uncovered material, which could cause abrasion.(ak) No shoes, jewelry or body piercing accessories shall be worn during a fight;(al) No greasing of a fighter's body shall be permitted. A light greasing of a fighter's face over and under the eyes shall be permitted.(am) No taping of a fighter's toes or fingers together shall be permitted.(an) Groin and mouth protection shall be mandatory. The bout or round shall not begin without mouthpieces and groin protectors in place. Female fighters shall be prohibited from wearing groin protectors.(ao) If a fighter's mouthpiece is involuntarily dislodged during competition, the referee shall call time out and hand the mouthpiece to the fighter at the first opportune moment, without interfering with the immediate action.(ap) If the referee decides there is a lack of action on the ground, the fight shall be stopped by the referee and both fighters shall be stood up to continue.(aq) If fighters are in danger of sliding under the ropes, the referee shall stop the action and decide whether to start the fighters in the same position in the center of the ring, or stand them back on their feet.(ar) The referee, ringside physician, a commissioner or deputy inspector and the fighter's cornermen shall be authorized to stop a fight to protect the safety of a fighter. A cornerman may stop a fight by "throwing in the towel", or notifying the referee or a commissioner or deputy inspector in some other manner that attracts the official's attention. (as) A referee shall stop a fight for the following reasons:
(1) A fighter is not intelligently defending him- or herself;(2) A fighter is taking excessive unanswered effective strikes;(3) A fighter taps out or passes out;(4) A fighter is knocked down and the referee cannot tell if the fighter capable of continuing the fight;(5) A scream from a fighter indicates a verbal submission or tap out;(6) A fighter and/or fighter's cornerman has notified the referee that the fighter does not wish to continue; or(7) A fighter's cornerman has notified the referee that they wish to end the contest.N.H. Admin. Code § Box 701.01
#6257, eff 5-25-96, EXPIRED: 5-25-04
New. #10483, eff 12-5-13