Why do they even bother with the gloves? It's obvious that knee and foot strikes are allowed, and there's no padding on those. And apparently no mouthgaurds either. I can appreciate the honesty of the loose rules, but those two aspects just confuse me.
well the gloves are so they dont break their hands so easily. thats the same reason gloves are so big in boxing. not for the protection of the person getting hit, but because hands break easily with no gloves on. When pro boxing had no gloves knockouts were very rare... but ever since gloves were regulated K0's increased exponentially.
In pride " target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRIDE
1.) mouthguards and gloves are required i think kneepads and shoes are optional
2.) elbows to the head are not allowed. (elbows cut the face easily as is seen in the ufc)
3.) stomps and knees are allowed. the athletesare skilled enough to defend and a ref is there to stop the action when they cant.