Jon Jones can appeal his only UFC loss under landmark rules change

On paper, Jones has only lost once in his professional career, a disqualification at the hands of Matt Hamill in 2009. In top position, Jones landed an illegal 12-6 elbow strike to Hamill's head and was disqualified by the referee, marking his first (and so far only) MMA loss in 28 fights.

But 15 years later, it seems possible Jones could eclipse his 27-1 record.

On Tuesday, the Association of Boxing Commissions and the Mixed Martial Arts Commission (ABC) made two major changes to the Unified MMA rules. The first was the elimination of the traditional “12-6 elbow” rule that banned downward strikes.

According to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Jon Jones could appeal his disqualification loss to Matt Hamill for a bye following this years-old rule change.

“Notably, Jon Jones can appeal his 2009 loss to Matt Hamill and have it overturned as a mistrial (not a victory), but that was nearly 15 years ago, so it may already be too late,” Helwani wrote to X, introducing ABC's latest proposed amendment.

Regarding the possibility of Jones having his loss overturned, Helwani said, “It's unlikely, but some of the committee members have said they would advise him to at least try.”

“Undefeated then, undefeated now,” Jones wrote on Instagram about the rules change. “@danawhite we need to erase that loss from history.”

The second rule change concerns the definition of an opposing player on the ground. For many years, the previous wording of this rule was: “To be grounded, one hand must be palm down (flat palm) with no other part of the body touching the floor of the fighting area. One knee, arm (not fingers) will get a fighter to be grounded, even if no other part of the body is touching the floor of the fighting area. No kicks or knees to the head are allowed at this point.”

The new approved language reads as follows: “A fighter is considered to be on the ground and cannot legally receive a knee or kick to the head while any part of his body other than his hands or feet is in contact with the canvas.”

Ariel Helwani also reports that these changes will be implemented on November 1, 2024, for other committees to catch up with these two amendments.

• UFC 304 News: Watch Leon Edwards unleash incredible trick shots ahead of title fight

• UFC News: Sean O'Malley dominates 'mentally weak' Conor McGregor – 'You've fallen'

• Boxing News: Former UFC champion criticizes Jake Paul, telling him to 'fight someone his own size'

• MMA News: Fighter overwhelms opponent with thunderous right punch at Fury FC 94

continue MMA Knockout For more daily UFC, MMA, WWE and AEW news, come here.

Follow MMA Knockouts twitterInstagram and Facebook.