A recent study was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Combat Sports Medicine addressing injury rates in Catch Wrestling. In short the study found that injury rates in Catch Wrestling were similar to Olympic style Wrestling. If you are unfamiliar with the art Catch Wrestling is a submission based grappling art with … More Study – Catch Wrestling Comparably Safe As Olympic Wrestling
An interesting study was published last month in the Journal of Combat Sports Medicine shedding light on how many head strikes professional boxers are exposed to in the ring. The study, titled Epidemiology of Head Strikes Absorbed by Professional Boxing Fighters, analyzed publicly available professional boxing data from 2023 through 2025. Data was reviewed documenting … More How Many Head Strikes Do Pro Boxers Absorb Per Minute in the Ring?
A smoker. In the combat sports world this is slang for an unsanctioned / unregulated fight. Cutting corners. Avoiding regulation. Exposing athletes to the dangers of a potentially neglectful environment. Last week the BC Court of Appeal released reasons for judgement addressing whether the government could be liable for not shutting down such an alleged … More Can the Government Be Negligent For Not Shutting Down A “Smoker”?
The biggest health dangers in combative sports are brain trauma from KO’s and TKO stoppages involving brain rattling. Concussions and CTE are to be taken seriously. So bouts allowing knees to the head of grounded opponents likely see far more dangerous stoppages and fight ending sequences right? Not necessarily so according to a recent study … More Study – Knees to Head of Grounded Fighters in MMA “Rarely The Decisive Factor in Fight Outcomes”
This week the Association of Ringside Physicians had their position statement on eye injuries in combat sports published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. The paper is titled “Eye Conditions: Position Statement of the Association of Ringside Physicians” and can be found here. Among the various recommendations was the call for MMA gloves to … More Ringside Doctors Call For “curved-finger MMA glove design to reduce eye pokes”
This week the Association of Ringside Physicians published a position statement on high risk fighters. The purpose of the document is “to guide ringside physicians in identifying fighters at higher risk, warranting closer evaluation before, during, and after competition”. The position statement sets out the criteria on which athletes are ‘high risk’ and reviews the … More Ringside Doctors Identify “High Risk Fighters”
Retired boxing world champion and MMA fighter Heather Hardy filed a lawsuit this week against Everlast and several other individuals involved in her career. In short she alleges that after a career in prize fighting and ascending to the very top she was left broke and broken. Hardy summarizes her injuries and current status as … More Heather Hardy Sues Everlast and Others For Chronic Brain Injury
The deceptively named Ali “Revival” Act is actually the Ali Destruction Act. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If passed it harms protections the Ali Act gives professional boxers. Colorado’s Brittany Petterson, the US representative from Colorado’s 7th congressional district recently confirmed this “undermining” aspect of it in response to concerns raised by a … More Representative Petterson – Ali Revival Act “Undermines” Protections of Ali Act
The Texas legislature has just passed a law giving ringside doctors immunity from lawsuits if they are negligent in their duties. Senate Bill 842 updated the State’s Occupation’s Code with the following language: IMMUNITY FOR RINGSIDE PHYSICIANS.(a)Except as otherwise provided by this section, a ringsidephysician is immune from civil liability arising from acts withinthe scope … More Texas Gives Negligent Ringside Doctors Immunity From Lawsuits
This week at the Association of Boxing Commissions 37th Annual Conference changes were made to MMA’s unified rules. Specifically the judging criteria were overhauled to have the language more accurately reflect current practices. The main highlight can be summarized in one word – damage. The old version of the rules shied away from that word … More Damage! Brand New MMA Judging Criteria Approved
Combat Sports Law 