 In 2000 , the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were written with the intention of making the sport of MMA appear more acceptable in a wider society . Under those rules , soccer kicks were explicitly banned and classed as a foul defined as " kicking the head of a grounded opponent " . It is noted that while soccer kicks to grounded opponents are fouls , axe kicks , downward strikes with the back of the heel , are not considered fouls if done to any part of a grounded opponent . In the years after the banning of soccer kicks under the Unified Rules , a number of fans and MMA fighters have argued for them to be permitted under the Unified Rules along with face and foot stomps . Their justification is that soccer kicks and foot stomps being disallowed hindered fighters who were used to using them under other MMA rule sets . Mauricio Rua , who mostly used soccer kicks to earn victories in Pride , argued that elbows caused more pain than soccer kicks and claimed that soccer kicks were safer than elbows . Rua also argued that elbows were more dangerous than soccer kicks and yet were allowed under the unified rules . Opponents of soccer kicks argued that they needed to be banned in order for the sport of MMA to move forward . They also argued that in the face of opposition to the sport from politicians such as John McCain , soccer kicks had to be banned in order to ensure that the sport was not viewed as illegal " human cockfighting " and could be sanctioned as legal in the United States by Athletic Commissions . 
