Joe Rogan offered his insight into the much-maligned rule against downward elbow strikes, otherwise known as 12–6 elbows, which are largely banned in the sport of mixed martial arts.
In 2000, the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were established to make the sport more mainstream. Among the established ruleset that we know today, a series of maneuvers were outright banned, one of them being the 12–6 elbow. The primary justification for banning the blow was the damage that could result from such a strike on the orbital bone and the potential for spinal injuries if used in certain positions.