Joe Rogan Hints at Upcoming Ban on Oblique Kicks in MMA
Joe Rogan just made a major announcement on his latest podcast episode starring Paddy Pimblett: he claimed oblique kicks will soon be banned!
One of mixed martial artsâ most polarizing techniques could soon disappear from the Octagon. During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with UFC lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett, Rogan claimed that oblique kicks are officially on the chopping block.
While discussing the long-term knee injuries that sidelined welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov following his five-round battle with Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310, Rogan casually dropped a major rulebook bombshell. When Pimblett pushed back against outlawing the strike, Rogan doubled down.
"It is going to be made illegal, I know," Rogan said. "I think we're announcing it right now."
The comment aligns with recent momentum behind the scenes. Following UFC 331 in September, California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster proposed banning lateral knee kicks, an initiative UFC CEO Dana White publicly backed.
Where Do Commissions Draw the Line?
Fighters remain sharply divided on whether the strike belongs in the cage. Critics point to career-altering ligament tears, referencing former champion Jon Jonesâ brutal knee attacks against Thiago Santos at UFC 239, a fight in which Santos absorbed repeated strikes and tore every major ligament in his left knee. Conversely, fighters like Pimblett argue that oblique kicks are a legitimate distance-management tool and simply another hazard athletes must learn to defend.
Still, if regulators follow through and outlaw the oblique kick, it raises an obvious contradiction. Commissions recently legalized downward 12-to-6 elbows, a strike capable of inflicting severe orbital fractures and concussive trauma, yet are moving to ban a linear push kick to the leg.
One could easily argue that 12-to-6 elbows carry far greater immediate danger than oblique kicks. Once athletic commissions start selectively removing effective techniques over injury concerns, it begs a tough question for the future of the sport: At what point do they draw the line?
