UFC fights have a lot of different aspects and most of them are regulated in the current rules, which we have talked about in an earlier article. Contemporary UFC rules have a list of illegal moves that are strictly prohibited in a fight and can get you negative points or even stricter punishments.
But, and this is very interesting, tickling cannot be found on the list. It looks silly, right? Such a benign and childish thing – tickling – is not found on the lists of illegal moves in the UFC, despite there being absolutely no logic in it being legal, right?
Well, since people often ask that question, we decided to answer it for you and tell you whether tickling is legal in UFC fights. Keep reading to find out the answer.
The Rules and the Fouls
The current rules of UFC fights were established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board (NJACB) under title “Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts”. They were established as a general guideline for MMA, but became so popular that many other states (including Nevada, Louisiana and California) decided to adopt them, along with the UFC.
As for the fouls, the UFC has a list of 35 fouls in total, as listed by the notoriously strict Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Three of them are fouls against the grounded opponent, while the rest can be described as regular fouls. Since we have already discussed all of these in a separate article, we refer you to the article for more information.
Is Tickling Allowed in the UFC?
Well, strictly speaking, tickling is not prohibited in the UFC as it is not in the list of illegal moves. So, is it legal? Well, technically – it is. Since it’s not prohibited, it is, therefore, permitted. But tickling does have some specific rules that have to be respected if a fighter wishes to use it in combat.
The first thing you ought to know about tickling in the UFC is that it is really uncommon, so uncommon, in fact, that people often wonder whether it’s not used because it is illegal; that is the reason you are here too.
This probably due to the fact that fighters considered to be against the rules of fair play, because tickling isn’t a sign of your fighting skills or your superiority, it’s a dick move which you use when you don’t know what else to do but don’t want to lose the fight fair and square. And no one likes such fighters.
What we managed to find out is that tickling is usually a part of a UFC contract, meaning that the fighters decide on the legality of tickling for their match. If they decide to allow tickling for their match, they also stipulate special rules on how to use it in a fight and how to sanction its illegal use. If a fighter starts laughing, the fight is interrupted until he stops and is then continued.
Also, tickling the genital and rectal area is always prohibited, regardless of whether tickling is allowed or not.
That covers our analysis of the UFC rules pertaining to tickling. We hope you’ve enjoyed the text and that we’ll be seeing you soon.
