When the UFC was first created, they lived up to their tagline, “There are no rules.” But as scrutiny and protest continued, the inevitable arrival of rules and regulations were implemented gradually, if the UFC expected to grow and reform. However, with all rules, there are gray areas, and therefore cases with state athletic commissions.
Clay Guida and Gray Maynard are expected to face each other in the octagon at UFC on FX 4 this Friday. About a month ago, Maynard’s camp made a complaint to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that has just recently come into fruition. The complaint regarded Guida’s famous locks. Maynard’s camp believes that Guida’s long hair proves as an unfair advantage in the octagon, and creates a distraction for his opponent. While Maynard claims to have had no knowledge of this complaint until it hit the media, I find it hard to believe.
In some respects, looking at the unified rules in black and white, it makes sense. Fighters are supposed to maintain a clean, tidy appearance, and if the head or facial hair proves to be a hazard, or interferes with the contest, the fighter isn’t allowed to fight until the commission approves of any and all changes. I can see how hair could be distracting for another fighter, especially one with such an unorthodox style such as Clay Guida’s. As of UFC 15, hair pulling was banned from the sport. Dealing with a fighter with longer hair would put strain on the opponent, making sure to avoid accidentally pulling or catching the hair. This could give an advantage to the opponent with long hair, as the other fighter would have to be careful with submissions and ground game.
On the other hand, it is just hair. It seems very trivial to pick out something so minute in an opponent, as Clay Guida has never had a problem with an opponent in the history of his career. He did, however, have a slight issue when UFC undisputed didn’t put Guida in the game because designing his hair posed too much of a problem. Dana White has suggested the fighter cut his locks, offering him a sweet deal of $10,000. However, Guida still sports his trademark hair. A number of fighters in the organization also have long hair including: Roy Nelson, Cody McKenzie, Louis Gaudinot, Benson Henderson, and Urijah Faber (until recently). In most instances with other fighters, it hasn’t posed a problem.
To avoid conflict, Clay Guida has agreed to braid his hair back for the fight. While he wasn’t ecstatic about it, he was understanding, and did what had to be done to continue with this fight. With other rules being targeted and reinforced in recent years, it is safe to assume that the unified rules will eventually have clarification on hair, and whether or not it needs to always be tied back. While this seems like a trivial matter, appearance of a fighter in MMA can have just as much impact on the sport as the fight itself- just ask Dana White what he thought about Dennis Hallman’s attire choice at UFC 133.
By: Emily Kapala