Demetrious Johnson: Bring Back PRIDE Rules
UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson would like to see a revival of certain PRIDE rules such as yellow cards and 10-minute first rounds.
Johnson brought up the rules of the sport at a recent Q&A session in advance of UFC Fight Night 92. MMA Junkie first reported Johnson’s comments.
“That’s one of the things I loved about PRIDE, the first round was 10 minutes,” Johnson said. “A lot of s— can happen in 10 minutes. Then the second round would happen, you have another five minutes. Then the third round would happen, you have another five minutes. That’s why I liked the PRIDE rules.”
The current No. 1 fighter in UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, Johnson was discussing recent changes to the unified rules of MMA, most notably re-defining what constitutes a downed opponent–that the fighter must have both hands on the ground, rather than just one.
“I think fighters who are preparing to use this as a tactic not to get hit are idiots and they’re not true martial artists,” Johnson said. “For me? I like it. I’d rather have head stomps and kicks to the head on the ground rather than elbows because I think to kick someone in the head while they’re laying on their back is very hard. Elbows are easy. You can be here and I just cut you and won the fight. For this, I think now the rule is that (touching two hands to the ground) is a downed opponent. That’s still the same thing. Don’t hit me please! No! It’s so stupid.”
Johnson has the longest reign of any of the current UFC title holders, winning the flyweight championship back in September of 2012 and he has made eight successful defenses.
