"Soon the sport became so popular that it was able to attract large audiences on its own merits. At that time most American fighters were still practising full contact karate where as their Japanese and Thai opponents had a larger arsenal which included knee and elbow strikes and kicks to the legs. Benny Urquidez who also held a black belt in Judo would throw his Thai or Japanese opponent if they tried to clinch.
The Eastern fighters were not happy about being thrown across the ring and a compromise was sought. Howard Hanson decided in order to win television exposure in the US a rules system should be employed that allowed for as much kicking and punching as possible and as little grappling and clinching as possible. Traditional Muay Thai which features extensive close range fighting in the ring has a huge television audience in its native country, but this audience has been brought up to understand the sport in a way that American fans could not. It was decided that knees and elbows would not be allowed."

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Copyright © 2007 Phillip Hogan (c/o. Hogan Leisure, 2nd Flr, 127 Charlotte St, Brisbane, Qld 4000 Australia).