Ariz. Admin. Code § R19-2-D601 - General Provisions for All Unarmed Combat Disciplines

A. Applicability of requirements/alteration. This Section shall apply to all regulated unarmed combat disciplines, unless otherwise noted herein. In case of a conflict between this general Section and a provision relating to a specific discipline, the specific provision shall control. The Commission may approve the alteration of requirements of Part D if it is determined that the alteration is dictated by the event venue or by nationally-accepted rules and that the alteration will not compromise the safety of the combatants. If the rules regarding a specific unarmed combat discipline do not adequately cover an issue pertinent to that discipline, the Commission may refer to and use rules applicable to a different unarmed combat discipline as guidance.

B. Time between bouts. Unless special approval is obtained from the Commission, a contestant shall not be allowed to compete until the following time periods have elapsed:

1. Five days, if the contestant has competed anywhere in a bout of six rounds or less; or

2. Ten days, if the contestant has competed anywhere in a bout of more than six rounds.

C. Dressing rooms. The promoter shall provide contestants with dressing rooms or areas which shall be equipped with showers, be sanitary, safe, ventilated, and have sufficient seating. Separate dressing rooms shall be provided for contestants of separate genders.

D. Mouthpiece.

1. During competition, each contestant is required to wear a mouthpiece that has been fitted to the contestant's mouth. The mouthpiece shall be subject to examination by and approval of the referee. A round cannot begin without the mouthpiece in place.

2. If the mouthpiece is dislodged or spit out during the course of a round, the referee shall call time at the first opportune moment without interfering with the immediate action or the advantage the aggressor may have. As soon as it can be properly replaced, the referee shall direct a second to wash the mouthpiece and the referee shall then replace it with all deliberate speed. For professional kickboxing contests, a round will not be stopped by the loss of a mouthpiece.

3. A contestant who intentionally spits out a mouthpiece in an apparent attempt to cause the progress of a round to be interrupted is subject to penalty to be determined by the referee.

E. Stools. The promoter shall provide an appropriate number of stools or chairs for each combatant's corner. The stools or chairs shall be of a type approved by the Commission. All stools and chairs shall be thoroughly cleaned or replaced after each bout.

F. Bell. The term "bell" shall refer to a bell, horn, gong, or other sound device approved by the Commission, which shall be positioned at a location approved by the Commission, and shall carry a clear tone so that the contestants may easily hear its sound.

G. Injured Combatants.

1. The ringside physician shall enter the fighting enclosure and examine and tend to a contestant who has been knocked out or is otherwise injured. The physician may enter at the conclusion of a bout, when called in by the referee, or when it is deemed medically necessary by the physician. The seconds of the injured contestant shall not interfere with the physician.

2. Contestants who have been knocked down and out shall be kept in a stable position until they have recovered.

3. A contestant who has been knocked out shall not be permitted to compete until the Executive Director and a physician approved by the Executive Director jointly clear the contestant's return to competition. In making this decision, the consideration of the Executive Director and the physician shall include, but shall not be limited to, the requirements under R19-2-C604(A)(3).

4. A combatant who has been knocked out three times within a 12-month period shall be suspended from competition for six months from the date of the last knock-out, and must satisfy the Commission that he or she is capable of returning to competition, including, but not limited to, documenting clearance under R19-2-C604(A)(3).

5. The term "knockout" as used in this subsection includes a technical knockout that is injury-based.

H. Female Combatant. A female combatant shall not be matched or engage in a bout with a male combatant, unless approved by the Commission.

I. Weigh-in; when contestants are required to appear.

1. The weigh-in shall be held at a time and place approved by the Commission in conformance with A.R.S. § 5-225(E). It shall be supervised by a Commission representative. Promoters are required to contact the Commission at least 48 hours in advance of the weigh-in to make appropriate arrangements therefor. Contestants shall appear at the weigh-in and the failure to do so may subject the contestant to discipline, up to and including disqualification from competing.

2. Contestants shall appear at the event location at least one hour before the scheduled bout in which they will compete.

3. Contestants who are already licensed and scheduled to fight shall be present in the city of the scheduled event at least 24 hours before the event and make their presence known to the Commission.

J. Physical examination, appearance and weight.

1. Each contestant shall be required to complete a pre-fight physical examination by an appointed physician as directed by the Commission. The examining physician shall be satisfied that a contestant is in good physical condition and able to compete in the scheduled event. Each contestant shall be re-examined within one hour after the bout in which he or she has competed.

2. Facial and head hair shall not create a hazard to safety or interfere with the supervision or conduct of the event. The Commission may require alteration to facial and head hair in the sole discretion of the Commission representative at the weigh-in. Hair stays must be approved by the Commission. Jewelry and piercing accessories are prohibited during competition.

3. A contestant who exceeds his or her contractual weight by more than one pound at the weigh-in is in breach of his or her contract. At the discretion of the Commission, the contestant may be permitted a second opportunity to make the weight within two hours. In the alternative, the Commission may impose a penalty consisting of a forfeiture of no more than 20% of the gross purse. Penalty amounts may be added to the purse of the contestant's opponent.

4. There shall be allowed variations in weight allowances and weight classes in non-championship fights, if both contestants and the Commission approve the variation.

K. Illness and absence.

1. Whenever a contestant, because of injuries or illness, is unable to take part in an event for which the contestant is under contract, that contestant or the contestant's designated representative shall immediately report that fact to the Commission. The Commission may then require the contestant to submit to an examination by a physician. The examination fee of the physician shall be paid by the contestant, or by the promoter, if the latter requests the examination.

2. Any contestant who fails to appear for an event in which the contestant is under contract shall be subject to disciplinary action, unless the contestant has submitted to the Commission a written valid excuse or physician's certification of illness or injury in advance of the event.

L. Substances.

1. It is prohibited for drugs, injections, intravenous fluids, or stimulants to be administered to, possessed by, or used by, a contestant during, or within 24 hours preceding an event. This includes smelling salts, ammonia capsules, or similar irritants. Caffeine or caffeinated beverages cannot be consumed during or within two hours before a fight.

2. The Commission may order anti-doping examinations immediately before and/or after the event. A sample (blood, breath, or urine) shall be provided, using sterile containers, in the presence of the Commission representative, the physician appointed by the Commission, or his or her appointee; and a representative of the combatant.

3. During an event, administering to a contestant any substance other than plain water or Commission-approved electrolyte drinks is absolutely prohibited.

4. Coagulants such as adrenalin 1/1000, and others expressly approved by the ringside physician, may be used between rounds to stop bleeding of cuts. "Iron type" coagulants, such as Monsel's solution, are absolutely prohibited and shall be grounds for disqualification.

5. In the discretion of the referee, a small amount of petroleum jelly may be used around the eyes. The use of lubricants, grease, or any other foreign substance on the arms, legs, or body is prohibited. The referee of a Commission representative has the right to require the removal of excessive lubricants or other foreign substances.

M. Inspectors.

1. The Commission shall appoint a minimum of one chief inspector for each event for the purpose of overseeing and coordinating the activities occurring in the dressing rooms with the activities occurring at ringside and the television coordinator.

2. Chief Inspectors shall:

a. Enforce the rules regarding hand wraps, glove weights and types, approved substances, and equipment and supplies that must be in the corner during a match, conduct of the seconds in the corner during the match, how a fight may be stopped by the chief second, and drug test administration;

b. Have drug testing kits, tape, pens, gloves, and other equipment available and in good working condition, for use by the Commission; and

c. Ensure that the promoter has provided the required emergency medical personnel and their equipment.

3. The Commission shall appoint additional inspectors as necessary for each event for the purpose of overseeing, directing, and controlling the activities occurring in the dressing room and at ringside.

4. Inspectors shall know and follow these rules and the Inspector's Training Guidelines provided by the Commission.

N. Presence of medical assistance.

1. At least one licensed physician shall be assigned to cover every contest, and shall sit at the immediate ringside of all bouts, unless the Commission determines that more than one assigned physician is necessary to protect the safety of fighters or promote the success of the event. No bout shall be allowed to proceed until at least one assigned physician is seated ringside. No assigned ringside physician shall leave the fighting venue until the dressing rooms are cleared after the final bout. Every physician shall be prepared to assist if any serious emergency arises and shall render temporary or emergency treatments for cuts and minor injuries sustained by the contestants.

2. No manager or second shall attempt to render aid to a contestant during the course of a round before the assigned ringside physician has had an opportunity to examine the contestant who may have been injured.

3. No event shall take place, whether amateur, professional, or both, without a team of fully equipped, qualified paramedics and a paramedic ambulance (collectively, a "paramedic unit") present at the event venue for each bout at all times.

a. If a paramedic unit leaves the site of the event to transport an unarmed combatant to a medical facility, the unarmed combat event must not continue until another paramedic unit is present and available. If the event cannot be stopped, as in the case of a televised event, the promoter shall make prior arrangements to ensure that there will be a paramedic unit present at all times, including arranging for the presence of additional paramedic units at the event start.

b. If a paramedic unit is not available because of the location of the site, the highest level of paramedic assistance and transportation in that location shall be present, able, and available to treat and transport an unarmed combatant to a medical facility.

c. The medical personnel described in this subsection shall be designated to render service only to the unarmed combatants in the event, and shall be positioned in a location that is deemed appropriate by the ringside physician.

d. Each promoter shall give notice of the event to:

i. The paramedic-unit companies that are located nearest to the site of the event and ascertain from the service the length of time required for one of its ambulances to reach the site; and

ii. The nearest hospital emergency room.

e. For purposes of this subsection (N), an event of unarmed combat begins with the commencement of the first bout and ends when the last unarmed combatant leaves the site.

f. The Commission may waive all or part of the paramedic unit requirement, in its discretion, if the person requesting the waiver demonstrates that adequate alternative medical facilities are readily accessible.

O. Conduct of seconds.

1. A contestant may have up to three seconds and shall designate to the referee which of them is the chief second. The chief second is responsible for the conduct of the assistant seconds. Only one second can be inside the ring during a period of rest, unless a greater number is approved by the Commission, except that there may be two seconds in the ring during a Muay Thai rest. The Commission, in its sole discretion, may approve an increase in the number of seconds to four in a championship contest or in a special event.

2. A second shall remain seated outside of, and shall not enter, the fighting area or stand on the apron during the progress of a round. A second shall not administer aid to a contestant during a round. During an officially interrupted round, a second may stand on the apron only with the express permission of the referee.

3. Seconds shall not interfere with the progress of a round, for example, by banging on the apron or excessive coaching. The referee has the discretion to disqualify a second whose conduct is interfering with a bout.

4. Any excessive or undue spraying or throwing of water on a combatant by a second during a period of rest is prohibited.

5. A chief second may signal a referee to stop the fight in the manner approved by the Commission.

P. Referee.

1. The referee shall have direction and control over contestants and their seconds during a bout subject to the governing laws and rules. The referee shall have final authority to decide if an injury is produced by a fair or foul blow and if an act is intentional or accidental. The referee shall have final authority to stop a bout when in the referee's opinion a contestant is unfit to continue or otherwise cannot compete. When instant replay is available, the referee, in the referee's sole discretion, may utilize the instant replay to determine the actual result of the fight-ending sequence in the case where a fight has been officially stopped and the result may have been caused by any type of foul, under the following rules:

a. A fight-ending sequence shall mean the final exchange of strikes or maneuvers that results in the ending of a bout.

b. The referee, and only the referee, may use the instant replay if the referee indicates to the Commission the need to do so ("Call for Replay Review") within three minutes from the stoppage of the fight.

c. The referee may have no more than five minutes to review the fight-ending sequence once the instant replay is made available and shall make a final decision within that period of time.

d. The information obtained from the replay shall not be used to restart the fight as the fight is officially over and cannot be resumed.

e. If there is technical difficulty in accessing the instant replay that cannot be resolved within 10 minutes of the Call for Replay Review, the referee's initial determination shall be final.

f. Instant replay shall not to be used by any party to challenge the decisions of the referee.

2. In the case of a cut or other injury which the referee believes may be incapacitating, the referee may consult with the ringside physician before making a decision and may interrupt a round and have the clock stopped for this purpose. The Referee shall notify Commission representatives of any cuts or injury observed, regardless of the severity of the injury.

3. When a contestant is incapacitated because of a foul, the referee has the discretion to interrupt a round and have the clock stopped for up to five minutes to enable the contestant to recover.

4. If the referee reasonably suspects that the contestants are not honestly competing, the referee shall stop the bout and declare a "no contest." Purses of both contestants shall be held pending investigation and disposition by the Commission, in its sole discretion.

5. Prior to giving a warning for rule infringement, the referee shall stop the fight, use the correct warning signal to ensure the contestant's understanding and then indicate the offending contestant to the judges. Any contestant, who is warned three times or more, may be disqualified.

6. The referee shall pick up the count for knock downs from the timekeeper by the fourth second.

7. The referee shall provide a 10-second warning to the seconds to leave the fighting area. The seconds must be out of the fighting area when the bell rings.

8. Should the contestant causing a knockdown fail to stay in the farthest neutral corner during the count, the referee shall cease counting until the contestant has returned to that corner. The referee shall then go on with the count from the point at which it was interrupted.

9. The referee shall wave both arms to indicate that a contestant has been counted out or cannot otherwise continue.

10. The referee shall raise the hand of the winner at the end of the bout.

Q. Judges.

1. The judges shall be independent and free to score according to the rules and normal practice.

2. Each judge shall sit separately from each other and from the audience.

3. The judges shall remain neutral during the match. However, a Muay Thai judge may notify the referee of a rule violation during the round interval.

4. At the end of each round, the judges shall complete the score card for that round.

5. The judges are not allowed to leave their seat until the match ends and result has been announced.

R. Type of results. Unless otherwise indicated in these rules, the following result types apply to every unarmed combat discipline regulated by the Commission:

1. A knockout occurs by failure of a combatant to rise from the canvas. The failure to resume fighting after a rest period shall be considered as if a knockout or technical knockout occurred in the next round.

2. A technical knockout occurs when:

a. The referee stops a bout;

b. The ringside physician stops a bout; or

c. An injury as a result of a legal maneuver is severe enough to terminate a bout.

3. A decision via score cards occurs when there is no knockout or technical knockout. A score card decision is of three types:

a. Unanimous - when all three judges score the bout for the same contestant;

b. Split Decision - when two judges score the bout for one contestant and one judge scores for the opponent; or

c. Majority Decision - when two judges score the bout for the same contestant and one judge scores a draw.

4. A draw is of three types:

a. Unanimous - when all three judges score the bout a draw;

b. Majority - when two judges score the bout a draw; or

c. Split - Where one of the three judges scores the contest in favor of one fighter, another judge scores the contest in favor of the other fighter, and the third judge scores the contest as a draw.

5. Disqualification of a contestant who has committed fouls may occur when the referee determines that a foul was intentional, severe, or flagrant, there is a combination of fouls of any type, or the bout is terminated as a result of an injury resulting from an intentional foul. A disqualification shall result in a win for the opponent of the disqualified contestant.

6. Forfeiture may occur when a contestant fails to begin competition or prematurely ends the bout for reasons other than those listed in these rules.

7. A technical draw may occur when an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul causes the injured contestant to be unable to continue and the injured contestant is even or behind on the score cards at the time of stoppage. A technical draw will also occur when both fighters are simultaneously knocked out ("double knockout"), both contestants are in such condition that a continuance may subject them to serious injury, or, in kickboxing, an accidental foul terminates a bout during the first round.

8. A technical decision may occur when the bout is prematurely stopped due to injury and a contestant is leading on the score cards.

9. No contest may occur when a bout is prematurely stopped due to accidental injury and a majority of rounds has not been completed to render a decision via the score cards. A no contest shall render the contest a nullity, with no winner or loser.

10. In a discipline using a 10-point must system of scoring, an even 10-10 score is allowed, but shall be a relatively rare result.

S. Timekeeper.

1. The timekeeper shall keep precise timing of each round and the breaks, following the referee's instructions to start or stop, according to the rules and normal practice. A timekeeper is responsible for keeping the official time of each bout and shall:

a. Start and end the round by striking the bell or other sound device approved for the bout.

b. Warn contestants when there is only 10 seconds remaining in a round by the method approved for the unarmed combat discipline.

c. Signal the end of each rest period by use of a distinctive whistle or other approved sound.

d. Correctly regulate all periods of time and counts by a stop watch or clock, but shall only stop the clock when instructed by the referee with the command "time," then resuming timekeeping when the referee gives the command "time in."

e. Use two stop watches or clocks for regulating rounds and rehabilitation periods.

f. For all disciplines other than MMA, start the knock down count by standing and signaling to the referee, audibly and by hand gestures, the correct count in one-second intervals.

2. There is no saving by the bell during a count, except during the last round.

T. Announcer. The announcer has the responsibility to:

1. Announce the combatants' names, corner, and weight or weight class prior to the fight and again as they arrive in the ring;

2. Hold the microphone for the referee to announce the rules or guidelines;

3. Announce the round number at the start of each round;

4. Announce the correct winner's name and corner, when the referee raises the combatant's hand; and

5. Announce any other information required by the unarmed combat discipline or the Commission.

U. Gloves. The Commission may require that promoters provide, for approval, a deconstructed sample of non-certified gloves to be used in any match, together with a list of materials used to construct the gloves.

V. Bandaging.

1. As a general rule, soft surgical bandage ("gauze") and surgeon's adhesive tape ("tape") may be used to protect the hands or feet of combatants, depending on the discipline.

2. With regard to hand bandaging, tape shall be placed directly on the skin of the hand nearest to the wrist to protect that part of the hand. Said tape may cross the back of the hand twice, but shall not exceed one winding's width (for example two inches for boxing hand wraps). Bandages shall be evenly distributed across the hand.

3. Contestants shall not wet wraps or apply a substance to the wrapping.

4. Bandages and tape shall be applied in the dressing room in the presence of the inspector. Gloves shall not be placed on the hands of a contestant until the bandages are approved by the inspector. If approved by the Commission, a contestant has the right to have a second or manager witness the bandaging of an opponent's hands.

5. Variations specific to each discipline are listed in Table 2.

6. All other wraps or bandages that are not specifically allowed in these rules must be approved by the Commission.

W. Fouls. The following actions are fouls in every unarmed combat discipline:

1. Striking or abusing an official;

2. Hitting on a break, after the round has ended, or after the referee has stopped the bout;

3. Butting with the head;

4. Groin attacks of any kind;

5. Refusal to obey the commands of the referee;

6. Timidity (avoiding contact, intentionally falling down, faking an injury, intentional stalling, refusing to engage, intentionally dropping the mouthpiece, or using passive tactics);

7. Spitting or biting;

8. Use of swearing or abusive language during the event by a contestant or the contestant's representatives;

9. Eye gouging;

10. Hair pulling;

11. Strikes to the spine, back of the head, or base of the skull ("rabbit blows");

12. Interference by seconds;

13. Intentionally throwing an opponent out of fighting area;

14. Holding the ropes or onto the cage for any reason; and

15. Any unsportsmanlike conduct that, in the opinion of the referee, does, or is likely to, cause an injury to an opponent or interference with the contest.

X. Rounds.

1. A round of unarmed combat includes a period of unarmed combat immediately followed by a period of rest, with the exception that there is no period of rest after the final round.

2. The Commission may approve a variation on the standard number and duration of rounds during a bout.

3. A round only begins upon the sounding of the bell. Any stoppage during the match for any reason, will not be counted as part of the round time.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R19-2-D601

Amended by final rulemaking at 24 A.A.R. 445, effective 2/7/2018.