UFC Vegas 41: What’s considered an illegal knee in MMA?

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 13: In this handout image provided by UFC, (R-L) Eryk Anders lands an illegal knee against Darren Stewart of England in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 13: In this handout image provided by UFC, (R-L) Eryk Anders lands an illegal knee against Darren Stewart of England in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) /
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UFC Vegas 41: What’s considered an illegal knee in MMA?

Seung Woo Choi landed an illegal knee in the middle of his fight with Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 41. It had a tremendous impact on the fight and ended up with Choi getting a one-point deduction.

But for those who might not be familiar with MMA rules, you might be wondering, what an illegal knee is.

An illegal knee in MMA is when a grounded opponent is struck in the head area by knee or by a kick, and can sometimes amount to disqualification. A grounded opponent is determined by how many hands or knees are on the canvas and can vary from state to state.

The replay system can be utilized to review the infraction, and also determine whether or not the illegal strike was intentional. This was a major topic of conversation after the controversial ending to Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan earlier this year at UFC 259.

The victim of the illegal knee, which in this most recent case was Caceres, is allowed up to five minutes to recover. The fighter and the doctors will then determine if he’s fit to continue.

Seung Woo Choi had a point deducted for his illegal knee landed on Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 41

Referee Jason Herzog, arguably one of the top officials in the sport, quickly spotted the illegal knee and deducted a point from Choi. It is a rule that has been widely talked about in 2021.

Next. UFC Vegas 41: Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori live results and highlights. dark

UFC Vegas 41 takes place on Saturday, Oct. 23, live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA who will be on-site for all your news and highlights.