Month: January 2015

Zuffa Seeks to Move UFC Class Action Lawsuit to Nevada

January 31, 2015

Update – Zuffa’s Motion To Change Venue is now publicly available and can be found here: Zuffa Motion To Change Venue ______________________________________ Zuffa has announced their first substantive step in defending the anti-trust lawsuit against them by seeking to move the claim to Nevada.  They have released the following statement: “We care about our fighters and our … More Zuffa Seeks to Move UFC Class Action Lawsuit to Nevada

Number of Bouts and Years of Fighting Related to Reduced Brain Volume in Boxers and MMA Fighters

January 30, 2015

Adding to this site’s archives of combat sports safety studies, important findings were published today connecting reduced brain volume and slower processing speed to the number of years and the number of bouts combat sports athletes endure. In today’s study (Repeated head trauma is associated with smaller thalamic volumes and slower processing speed) published at the … More Number of Bouts and Years of Fighting Related to Reduced Brain Volume in Boxers and MMA Fighters

Tennessee Would Be Wise to Remember Safety Over Profit

January 25, 2015

Update February 1, 2015 – The Tennessee Athletic Commission has been given some breathing room with its legal expiry pushed back to June 30, 2016.  This is a temporary fix and a long term solution is still needed.  Kevin Iole of Yahoo News has the details here. ______________________________ As Kirik Jenness reports, the Tennessee Athletic … More Tennessee Would Be Wise to Remember Safety Over Profit

Legal MMA In New York One Step Closer to Reality?

January 22, 2015

Update January 22, 2015 – Silver has now indeed been arrested and charged in an alleged corruption and bribery scheme.  The full criminal complaint can be found here: Sheldon Silver Criminal Complaint —————————————————- As Yahoo Sports writer Kevin Iole speculated in 2013, Legal MMA in New York is not likely “until assembly speaker Sheldon Silver’s gone“. In … More Legal MMA In New York One Step Closer to Reality?

Wanderlei Silva Files Legal Arguments in NSAC Lawsuit

January 21, 2015

Last year the NSAC took bold steps in attempting to drug test Wanderlei Silva, who at the time was not licensed with the commission.  After Silva unceremoniously ducked the test the NSAC doubled down and issued Silva a lifetime ban for the alleged infraction of their rules. Earlier this year I discussed why the NSAC … More Wanderlei Silva Files Legal Arguments in NSAC Lawsuit

Change of Decision – A Breakdown for the NSAC, Urijah Faber and Francisco Rivera

January 13, 2015

Update February 17, 2015 – Today the NSAC heard the formal application and, as anticipated, ruled they did not have jurisdiction to overturn the bout based on the argued grounds ____________________________ Overshadowed in yesterday’s NSAC hearing was Francisco Rivera’s appeal to overturn his loss to Uriah Faber at UFC 181.  After stunning Rivera with an … More Change of Decision – A Breakdown for the NSAC, Urijah Faber and Francisco Rivera

Will the Nevada State Athletic Commission Seek CIR Testing for Jon Jones?

January 8, 2015

UPDATE –  January 16, 2016 – the full CIR test results were released and can be found here – jon-jones-ufc-182-steroid-profile January 8, 2015 – Bleacher Report has interviewed NSAC Director Bennett who confirms that CIR testing was indeed done and that “none of the results were a concern“. ———————————————- In the wake of Jon Jones’ recent … More Will the Nevada State Athletic Commission Seek CIR Testing for Jon Jones?

Why Jon Jones Pre Bout Cocaine Use Is OK In Nevada

January 6, 2015

Today it was announced that Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites in a random drug test taken 30 days prior to his latest title defense at UFC 182. The results were known ahead of the bout so why was the fight allowed to proceed?  Because cocaine, while prohibited by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, … More Why Jon Jones Pre Bout Cocaine Use Is OK In Nevada

MMA  Gloves  Produce “4‐5  Times  Greater Peak Force” Than Boxing Gloves

January 6, 2015

In my ongoing efforts to highlight studies addressing safety issues in combat sports, an interesting study was recently published by Benjamin Lee and Stuart McGill from the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory, at the University of Waterloo (Canada) testing the peak forces caused by MMA gloves contrasted with 16 oz boxing gloves.  The study also reviewed the time … More MMA  Gloves  Produce “4‐5  Times  Greater Peak Force” Than Boxing Gloves

Guy Mezger Shares the Legacy of “17 Years of Being Hit in the Head”

January 2, 2015

As a long time fan of MMA and other combat sports I feel past, current and future athletes are owed a fair and sober discussion of the realities of traumatic brain injury.  Yes a bit of common sense tells us these sports have inherent dangers and yes being hit in the head is not good … More Guy Mezger Shares the Legacy of “17 Years of Being Hit in the Head”