Weren't Silva's elbows at the end of his fight with Lutter at UFC 67 illegal?

Question

I thought the UFC went along with the rule that you cannot elbow with the point of the elbow in a downward motion, like a spike. You can only elbow across with the forearm, not the way Silva was doing it...

Answer 1

No because they were thrown parallel to the mat rather than perpendicular, the difference is a elbow thrown down at the strike the mat has gravity and the thrust of your entire body behind it while a strike thrown parallel to the mat means that the person is either on his back on the mat (like silva was) or on top laying on an opponent so much less power can be exerted, also if you re-watch the fight, during the replay from a different angle you can see that Lutter tapped BEFORE Silva began throwing elbows, it was actually a triangle choke submission.

Answer 2

You can tell that he wasn't coming straight down with them, instead he hit Lutter at an angle. It's a small technicallity, but he kept it legal.

Answer 3

I thought elbows were legal in the UFC and were prohibited at Pride???

Answer 4

the officialjurisdiction stated that the elbows didnt come strait down like a spike but rather at a slight slant. i was wondering this too, but thats what ufc.com stated