The first contract fighters sign is sometimes their worst. Their deal with their manager. The world of MMA management is poorly regulated. It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and standards are far below those in unionized sports where players associations impose strict thresholds for agent certification. In some States and Provinces anyone can be a … More MMA Manager Contracts – A Critical Look
In the latest combat sports safety study findings were published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research finding that a year of boxing had measurably noticeable negative consequences for the participants memory. In the recent study, titled Neuropsychological Study on the Effects of Boxing Upon Athletes’ Memory, the authors reviewed neuropsychological data from 28 … More Study – One Year of Boxing Negatively Impacts Working Memory, Short-Term Memory, and Long-Term Memory
In December, 2014 Cung Le, Nathan Quarry and Jon Fitch filed an antitrust lawsuit against Zuffa, LLC, the UFC’s legal owner, alleging they have gained their market prominence through a series of unlawful and anti competitive business practices. In simple terms the lawsuit claims the UFC has been able to artificially suppress fighter pay as … More UFC Antitrust Lawsuit Likely Certified as Class Action
Today the US Department of Treasury (H/T Karim Zidan for first reporting on this) designated Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Executive Order for being a foreign person who is a leader of an organization, the Kadyrovtsy, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human … More US Targets Russian MMA Promotions for Ties To Human Rights Abuser
I once joked that an MMA fighter/promoter contract takes about one page to draft. The remaining pages are designed to screw over the fighter. There is some truth to this. When giving advice to fighters about signing promoter contracts it usually is along the lines of ‘tear it up and start from the beginning‘. Outside … More Professional MMA Contracts – Food for Thought for New Fighters
Anti doping consequences just became a lot more serious with the United States creating criminal and civil repercussions for doping conspiracies in “major international sport competitions”. The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 passed into law last week. Those involved in doping conspiracies in certain international competitions involving American athletes can now face, in addition to … More US Passes Rodchenkov Anti Doping Act
An interesting study was published in the Journal of The Physician and Sports Medicine suggesting that in combat sports competition the first athlete to sustain a concussion in a bout will go on to lose 98% of the time. In the study, titled Concussion Occurrence And Recognition In Professional Boxing and MMA Matches, an 8 … More Study – First Fighter To Be Concussed Loses 98% of the Time
Bare Knuckle Boxing has enjoyed increased popularity in recent years with more North American jurisdictions legalizing the sport since Wyoming led the way as the first State to legalize BKB in 2018. Data was presented at this year’s Association of Ringside Physicians annual conference by Dr. Don Muzzi giving the first glimpse into the injury … More Data Reveals Bare Knuckle Boxing Has Lower Concussion Rate than Gloved Fights
Adding to this site’s database of combat sports health and safety studies, research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzing the injury rate among the Olympic combat sports. In the study, titled Injury incidence, severity and profile in Olympic combat sports: a comparative analysis of 7712 athlete exposures from three consecutive Olympic Games, the … More Study – Judo Has Highest Competition Injury Rate Among Olympic Combat Sports
Among the various changes coming to the World Anti Doping Agency’s 2021 Prohibited List is the creation of a new category of “substances of abuse” with several banned substances being shifted to this category which can bring lighter punishments than other anti doping violations. These changes are relevant for combat sports as many North American … More WADA Creates “Substances of Abuse” Category For Anti Doping
