UFC commentator discusses possible slam ban following scary knockout

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has given his thoughts on a possible slam ban after Elijah Smith’s slam KO win over Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Vegas 109.

Last Saturday night, we saw a handful of pretty wild finishes in the latest UFC Apex event. One of the biggest examples of that came from Elijah Smith, who was able to defeat and knock out Toshiomi Kazama in the first round. The manner in which he did it, though, was the real story, as he slammed Kazama to the ground which led to him being knocked out cold.

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While Kazama has been able to recover from the incident, it’s suddenly led to a lot of conversations regarding the slam in mixed martial arts. Some believe that it’s a perfectly valid thing to do to your opponent, whereas others feel like the UFC should seriously consider banning it.

In a recent video, UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier became the latest to weigh in on this issue.

Cormier’s view on possible UFC slam ban

“There are very few rules that you have to follow, right?” Cormier said on Good Guy / Bad Guy.

“One is you can’t hit him behind the head. You hit him behind the head, that’s the biggest no-no. But if you slam him, what hits first, Chael? The back of the head.

“So there’s a reason we don’t get the punch behind the back of the head. So if I’m being honest, like, I don’t know that I would be opposed to that being done away with, especially in that fashion,” Cormier continued.

“It was like the Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Big Daddy Cool, Diesel, The Razor’s Edge. It was every finishing move you’ve ever seen, all in one. So, while slamming the person right down on their head is legal, I would probably say I would not be too mad if they did away with that.

“The impact on the back of the head is crazy. In most cases, that becomes the story of the night,” Cormier said of slam knockouts like Elijah Smith’s.

Quotes via Bloody Elbow