They are flares or call them flexible fenders if needed. It doesn't matter either way. They do what they do and your setup is somewhat unusual in that you took advantage of their ability to move with the rising tire. I like MCE's quite a bit, btw. They are an option I am looking at for mine.
Driving over a big rock and the amount of distance it takes to do that. I've been there more than a few times.
Again, the important details here are the bump stops, shocks, tire size and how those fit together. My front bumps are set so that my relocated 11" shocks reach full compression at the same point just before the 3 link truss smashes the oil pan, which happens to match 33s under stock fenders that barely scrub at full flex full steering lock. The result is about 1.5" bump stop extension with 6" of up. A larger tire requires either more bump or more room. More bump messes with my available shock travel unless I change the mounts again.