Combat Sports Law

Two noteworthy regulatory developments took place today in Nevada.

First Nevada removed cannabis as a banned substance for combat sports athletes.

Second Nevada is preparing to formally adopt the latest Unified Rules of MMA. These removed the 12-6 elbow strike as a foul and also changed the definition of ‘grounded’ fighter expanding the situations where opponents can be kicked and kneed in the head and stomped.

Nevada is looking to formally adopt the new unified rules on November 20, 2024 but in the meantime granted an waiver of the current rules so the UFC can use the new unified rules for an upcoming show before the November 20 date.

John Morgan provided a concise summary of these developments with the following posts:

NSAC today formally decides "the possession, use or consumption of cannabis or cannabis products will not be deemed an anti-doping violation" and removes cannabis from the state's Prohibited List.https://t.co/DG7sWfnd5R

— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) October 29, 2024

NSAC today grants waiver for UFC's event on Nov. 9 in Las Vegas to utilize the ABC's new definition of a grounded fighter, as well as elimination of the 12-to-6 elbow rule.

NSAC will not formally adopt the new rules until next monthly meeting on Nov. 20, but can now use them.

— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) October 29, 2024