Sherdog’s Loretta Hunt nicely summarized the details of events that transpired that day. Forty recognized sanctioning bodies and athletic commissions present. Interestingly enough, both California and Nevada – who are often seen as on the forefront of the sport in terms of sanctioning – were not present.

One contentious change brought about from the conference was clarification regarding the permissible striking areas to the head. The prohibited area defined as the back of the head was updated to include “the crown of the head down to the centerline of the skull with a one-inch variance to either side.”

This was seen as necessary due to confusion among athletic commissions when applying the previously-defined standard.

John McCarthy, arguably the sport’s premier referee, argued the need to preserve the updated rule. He argued that if a fighter has his opponent’s back while on the ground, he would have a wider range to strike the head assuming the updated rule is implemented. Some members in the conference wanted to include the boxing definition of an illegal strike to the back of the head: from ear to ear. Imposing this definition, he claimed, would allow for one fighter to have his back taken as they would realize they could not be attacked in that position.

Elbow strikes were also updated within the unified rules. Previously, downward strikes (i.e.: from the 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock position) were previously prohibited. All elbow strikes are now allowed, except to illegal areas.

Smothering an opponent’s mouth or nose is also prohibited. The only exception is the use of a choke with the arm covering the mouth.

The proposed rule to allow knees to the head of a downed fighter was proposed to be voted on, but did not make it to the revised rules.

Perhaps the biggest change passed at the conference is the new weight class structure. A total of fourteen weight classes are now defined by the ABC. The new weight classes are:

Flyweight (up to 105 lbs.)

Super Flyweight (105 lbs. – 115 lbs.)

Bantamweight (115 lbs. – 125 lbs.)

Super Bantamweight (125 – 135 lbs.)

Featherweight (135 lbs. – 145 lbs.)

Lightweight (145 lbs. – 155 lbs.)

Super Lightweight (155 lbs. – 165 lbs.)

Welterweight (165 lbs. – 175 lbs.)

Super Welterweight (175 lbs. – 185 lbs.)

Middleweight (185 lbs. – 195 lbs.)

Super Middleweight (195 lbs. – 205 lbs.)

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs. – 225 lbs.)

Heavyweight (225 lbs. – 265 lbs.)

Super Heavyweight (265 lbs. and above)

Promotions need not follow the new weight classes. If they do not, however, they will not be adhering to the Unified Rules.

Finally, the revised rules will allow state athletic commissions to gradually adopt them into their sanctioning bodies.