The knee Jeremy Stephens threw was illegal , but so was the use of instant replay that might have allowed the referee to confirm whether or not it landed cleanly on Josh Emmett ’s skull. A few states over, replay would have been allowed, and the knee would have been a foul based solely on the presence of a few fingers on the mat rather than an entire leg. The conversation that took place in the locker room before the fight? The one that may have left Stephens confused about when and how he could use the full compliment of his limbs to remove his opponent from consciousness? That was to brief him on what the rules were for this particular fight, in this particular state. Because why shouldn’t professional athletes be asked to learn and follow a different version of the rules in every single contest?
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Why can’t MMA have unified rules that are actually, you know, unified? – MMA Junkie