Illegal or accidental? Dangerous “Travis Browne Elbows” strike again at UFC Denver

Travis Browne-style elbow strikes are one of the most problematic weapons in MMA.

First, let’s define the punches made famous by former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who melted both Gabriel Gonzaga and Josh Barnett with these strikes in 2013 (video). These are lateral elbow strikes delivered in rapid fire while defending against a takedown, usually along the fence. The defending fighter gives up on actually grappling to block the blow, relies on the fence for a moment to get up, and then unleashes hell on the side of his opponent’s head.

In theory and practice, it’s a bold move that can pay off hugely in the form of an instant knockout. A hard blow directly to the side of the head/around the ear can completely throw off the opponent’s balance. Since the fighter defending the takedown is already standing over the firing fighter, the firing athlete, having lost his ability to push forward, gets stuck there and can take even more damage.

The result can be really serious disruptions.

The problem is that they almost always hit illegal areas. The back of the head is already a sensitive subject in MMA, but generally speaking, these elbow strikes are considered legal if any part of the strike touches the ear. However, given the chaotic and fast manner in which these elbow strikes are delivered, at least some of them always hit just past the ear or directly to the back of the head.

What happens next is up to the referee. Most of the time, as with the original Travis Browne KOs, the questionable aim is overlooked. At least some of the punches were legal, and referees don’t like to interfere with the outcome, so the KO win stands. The defeated man has no choice but to go backstage, shower, and feel any bumps on the back of his skull in areas theoretically protected by the officials.

Last night we saw the more chaotic option in the Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage fight. Alhassan’s elbow strikes made Brundage go limp pretty quickly, but the wrestler woke up. He rolled over and kept punching, denying Alhassan an instant knockout win. “Judo Thunder” kept firing elbow strikes, but the position switched away from the fence and things slowed down.

This is where Alhassan made a mistake: Travis Browne’s elbow strikes are based on chaos and speed. They end the fight instantly, before the location of the landings can really be considered too much. Alhassan tried to use them for too long, even after Brundage got him out in the open and blocked most of the legal striking surface with his shoulder.

Having already been cautioned, Alhassan continued to throw elbows in the available illegal area. The action was stopped and the referee was standing right in front of them. It was no longer up for debate. It was obvious.

The funny thing is that Alhassan’s clearly illegal use of Travis Browne elbows still resulted in a “No Contest” at worst rather than a disqualification! There is obviously no real risk in wildly striking towards the opponent’s brain stem. At best, the opponent will go down and at worst, the referee will probably opt for a “No Contest” rather than actually penalizing the foul.

The actual worst case scenario is that people can be killed by rabbit punches, but MMA doesn’t care about that little obstacle until a tire bursts.

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