Former long-time referee John McCarthy explains why Jessica Andrade’s piledriver finish at UFC 237 is completely legal.
UFC strawweight contender Jessica Andrade scored a huge win on Saturday night with an emphatic finish on Rose Namajunas at UFC 237. Andrade ended the night with a piledriver slam, knocking “Thug Rose” out in the second round of their headliner fight.
But there came questions about the legality of the said move, which was brought up by a Twitter user to former referee and Bellator commentator “Big” John McCarthy. McCarthy did oblige with a brief explanation of the rules, stating why Andrade’s slam was completely legal.
When Rose goes for the armbar she has a choice to either let go of the armbar or try and hold onto it and go for the ride that Andrade is going to put on her. There is no illegal slam when a submission is being attempted. It does not matter how she brings her down #AskBJM https://t.co/eBgvzcdZBY
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) May 12, 2019
As stated on the 2017 Unified Rules of MMA, spiking an opponent’s head and neck to the canvas is considered a foul. However, there are the exceptions, which aligns to McCarthy’s explanation.
It should be noted when a fighter is placed into a submission hold by their opponent, if that fighter is capable of elevating their opponent they may bring that opponent down in any fashion they desire because they are not in control of their opponent’s body.
The fighter who is attempting the submission can either adjust their position, or let go of their hold before being slammed to the canvas.
Andrade took home an additional $100,000 for both the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses, as she now improves to a record of 20-6 (with 14 wins by stoppage).