Month: December 2013

Where’s the MMA At? Busiest US and Canadian Athletic Commissions Revealed

December 30, 2013

Ever wonder where the most MMA events take place?  Data was recently compiled addressing the volume of sanctioned amateur and professional events in the US and Canada from 2009-2012. California wins by a landslide with 154 sanctioned events in 2012 alone.  Texas comes in second with 83 and Nevada ranked fifth overall in volume in … More Where’s the MMA At? Busiest US and Canadian Athletic Commissions Revealed

ABC Medical Committee Addresses Safety of Transgender Combatant Licencing

December 30, 2013

Few topics generate more debate when it comes to MMA regulation than licencing of transgender athletes.   Ultimately this is a debate that is best addressed through science as the most valid criticisms focus on the health and safety of participants.  To this end, the Association of Boxing Commissions Medical Committee (comprised of some 40 … More ABC Medical Committee Addresses Safety of Transgender Combatant Licencing

More on Medical Marijuana TUE’s in Combat Sports

December 27, 2013

Earlier this year I canvassed the possibility of obtaining Therapeutic Use Exemptions for medical marijuana users licensed to compete in combat sports. The Association of Boxing Commissions Medical Committee has now addressed this issue, noting that “there are no good data at present to suggest that marijuana acts directly as a performance-enhancing drug” and confirmed … More More on Medical Marijuana TUE’s in Combat Sports

How Much Head Trauma is Too Much in a Combat Sports Career?

December 27, 2013

C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a progressive degenerative disease which is linked to combat and other contact sports such as hockey and football.  When an athlete experiences too many concussive or sub concussive shots over the course of a career they are at risk of developing CTE which can have profound consequences later in life. … More How Much Head Trauma is Too Much in a Combat Sports Career?

What the PED Lawsuit Will Look Like in MMA

December 23, 2013

I’ve previously discussed some of the biggest legal threats to MMA with PED abuse and inadequate policies addressing this being one of them.  I’ll confess that when a lawyer talks about the law, especially in a hypothetical situation, it can be a little dry.  Enter Ben Miller.  Last week Ben authored an article at the … More What the PED Lawsuit Will Look Like in MMA

One More From the Vault – Amateur Combat Sports Outside of OAC Jurisdiction

December 20, 2013

Adding to this site’s archives addressing combat sports prosecutions in Canada, useful reasons for judgement were recently shared with me addressing charges under the Ontario Athletics Control Act dealing with an amateur kickboxing event. In the unreported 2010 case (Her Majesty the Queen v. McNamara) the Defendants held two kickboxing bouts and were charged with … More One More From the Vault – Amateur Combat Sports Outside of OAC Jurisdiction

One From The Vault – Transcript from “Prizefighting” Guilty Plea Sentencing

December 19, 2013

Prosecutions under section 83 of the Criminal Code are few and far between and published reasons for judgement addressing such prosecutions are even more scarce.  Recently unpublished reasons for judgement were shared with me addressing proceedings on a guilty plea during a section 83 prosecution in Ontario in 2003.  I highlight these here for the … More One From The Vault – Transcript from “Prizefighting” Guilty Plea Sentencing

Study Shows Multiple Subconcussive Hits Take Their Toll on Brain Function

December 12, 2013

As previously discussed intense and frequent sparring can have more negative effects on brain function than the frequency of knockouts in competition.  A further study addressing the effects of cumulative subconcussive hits was recently published in the journal Neurology.  You can find an abstract of the study here. The author compared a group of NCAA hockey … More Study Shows Multiple Subconcussive Hits Take Their Toll on Brain Function

BC Athletic Commission Still Without TUE Policy; WADA Standards Likely Default

December 11, 2013

Since their creation earlier this year the BC Athletic Commission has been one of the busiest in the Country overseeing a host of amateur and professional combat sports events with perhaps the most high profile being the recent World Series of Fighting event this past weekend in Vancouver. With all of these events how many … More BC Athletic Commission Still Without TUE Policy; WADA Standards Likely Default