Luana Pinheiro Trashes Robertson’s 12:6 Elbow
Luana Pinheiro appears to be outraged by her UFC Vegas 100 opponent. The Brazilian took on Gillian Robertson in a grappler vs. grappler matchup. During one of the ground exchanges, Robertson used a controversial strike on Pinheiro, which allegedly left her in pain for weeks.
The Questionable Strike
The strike that raised so many questions was a 12:6 elbow thrown directly at Pinheiro’s anus. As a result of this, the Brazilian was seen limping out of the cage after the fight. Robertson won the bout by unanimous decision. Pinheiro has since come out and told media that she still cannot sit down comfortably as a result of the elbow.
It was whilst the Brazilian was stacked against the cage that the elbow was thrown. Pinheiro’s head was pushed down into the canvas, with her behind presenting itself for Robertson – which is what led to the never-seen-before move being used.
Pinheiro Labels Elbow “Disrespectful”
A.G Media recently interviewed Pinheiro, who made her stance on the elbow clear.
She said: “I definitely felt it there. Excuse my language, but she elbowed my anus. To me? That’s disrespectful. I’d never do that to another athlete.
“She’s a woman fighting there, you know? I’m there because she’s there, we’re chasing the same dream. So it’s only fair to respect your opponent. I think that was really disrespectful on her part.”
Pinheiro elaborated by explaining that she believes the strike was thrown with nothing but ill-intent.
“It’s not a move to submit or knock me out, it’s not like that. In my view she did it maliciously, with bad intentions. Not just during the round, but after the bell she did it again.”
Emotional damage was not the only consequence of the awkward strike. Pinheiro explained that the elbow has left her on meds since their fight on November 9th.
“I’m on strong meds. Today’s the last day I’ll take them,” she said. “I can’t sit without a cushion or bend my back. I can’t exert much force because I feel it there. At first I couldn’t walk, cough, or laugh properly. Sneezing was agony, I felt like I was dying, you know?”
12:6 Elbow Rule Change
Throwing elbows from a 12:6 angle have been an illegal strike in MMA since the unified ruleset was created in 2000.
Most famously, the strike was what saw Jon Jones ‘lose’ his undefeated record. Jones lost by disqualification in his bout against Matt Hamill, when ‘Bones’ was reigning down ground and pound elbows on his opponent.
The referee deemed the strikes to be thrown from the 12:6 angle, which led to the fight being stopped and Jones disqualified.
Starting from November 1st 2024, this rule was completely overhauled. 12:6 elbows are now legal under the unified ruleset, which is why Robertson was able to throw the strike without repercussion.
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images
