Perhaps no area of MMA regulation receives more public attention than judging. This month a US based athletic commission is rolling out major changes to MMA judging that can go a long way in creating better accountability for officials. Presently all the public (and athletes and their managers) receive are a judges score. 10-10,10-9, 10-8 … More Major MMA Judging Reform Coming June 17
A few years back I wrote about how dis-unified the unified rules of MMA are in practice. In short they are very scattered and inconsistent across jurisdictions. This week I obtained data via an open records request breaking this disparity down specifically for the definition of grounded opponents. Using the published rules across US State commissions … More The Dis-Unified Rules of “Grounded” Fighters Plus Knee Strike Data
The 12-6 Elbow. One of the more bizarre fouls under MMA’s unified rules. A foul that some regulators insisted on including in the first draft of the unified rules and compromise was reached. Over the years there has been pushback to remove the foul but health and safety concerns about adding a new tool to … More Data Shows 12-6 Elbows No More Dangerous Than Other Legal Strikes
Interesting data was shared by Anthony Cummings, the Director of Colorado Combative Sports Commission, in a regulatory hearing this week. Anthony notes that in 2021 their commission implemented continuing education for officials. Something that is not the industry norm. Split decisions (decisions where officials disagree on who the bout winner was) were drastically reduced as … More Data – Continuing Judge Education Drastically Improves Consistency in MMA and Boxing
In the aftermath of Tim Hague’s tragic death during a boxing bout in Edmonton the City ‘paused’ all combat sports events. This ‘pause’ has now been lifted. Interestingly they are only green lighting large scale shows with promoters needing to secure a venue with a capacity of at least 5,000. A strange stipulation hoping to … More Edmonton Lifts “Pause” for “Large Scale” Combat Sports
Nate Diaz is scheduled to box Jake Paul this summer in Texas. The fighters have agreed to VADA anti-doping testing. VADA is a private anti doping contractor who largely tests for the substances banned by the World Anti Doping Agency. With one key exception. They don’t test for cannabis. Texas, like any US State, has … More Let’s Talk Nate Diaz vs Jake Paul, VADA, Texas and Cannabis
A major Columbia University study was published this month finding that many NHL players die young and enforcers die younger. The study, titled Fighting and Penalty Minutes Associated With Long-term Mortality Among National Hockey League Players, 1967 to 2022, reviewed mortality rates among NHL players and broke down the findings based on the number of … More Study – NHL Fighters Die Young. CTE Pathology Common.
Two years ago decorated kickboxer Joe Schilling knocked out a patron named Baloba at a bar. He was sued. He claimed self defence. Below is the footage which speaks for itself. Schilling argued he believed he was about to be attacked and used force to defend himself. The court agreed finding that he was protected … More Joe Schilling Beats Assault Lawsuit Using Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
One of the most promising regulatory trends in the last year are numerous State, Tribal and Provincial athletic commissions sharing key information with the industry about concussion and CTE which are some of the biggest occupational hazards professional fighters face. It makes perfect sense that regulators, who are in charge of health and safety issues, share this … More South Carolina Athletic Commission Shares CTE and Concussion Information With Fighter Community!
While there is some data suggesting brain injury rates and severity may be lower in MMA than in boxing, there is no reason to believe that the brain rattling from MMA does not lead to the disease. There is a growing list of proven and suspected cases of CTE in former MMA athletes. Researchers have … More MMA Legend Frank Shamrock Pledges Brain For CTE Research
Combat Sports Law 