France is one of the most high profile countries yet to legalize Mixed Martial Arts. Today it was announced that the longstanding ban will be coming to an end as of January 1, 2020. Roxana Maracineanu, France’s Minister of Sports, tweeted the following announcement noting the sport will be legalized and governed by a yet … More France to Legalize Pro and Amateur MMA as of January 1, 2020
Update: MMA refereeing pioneer and co-writer of the unified rules John McCarthy was kind enough to weigh in with his views on this topic: _________________________________________________ The now famous toe kick oilcheck. If you don’t know what I’m talking about I can do no better job describing the incident than the one and only Robin Black. … More Let’s Talk the Toe Kick Oilcheck and MMA’s Unified Rules
When this site started several years back MMA was illegal in certain jurisdictions and regulatory progress was mapped out. Now Bare Knuckle Boxing “BKB” is walking a similar path and its regulatory story, much like MMA’s, is intriguing as many athletic commissions use creative reasoning in allowing the sport. This post will be updated from … More Documenting Bare Knuckle Boxing Legality
Three of the ongoing lists I’ve kept on this site are documenting doping in MMA, documenting weight cut injuries/deaths in MMA and MMA’s modern fatality list. With Tim Hague being the second known MMA athlete (and first UFC alumnus) to be diagnosed with the disease I will now also document this. As with the other … More Documenting CTE in Mixed Martial Arts
Several former UFC fighters have come forward in recent years admitting they are living with the consequences of CTE. The disease, however, can only be formally diagnosed at this time after death via autopsy. It appears the first formal diagnosis of CTE has now been made in a former UFC fighter. Tim Hague, known as … More Former UFC Fighter Tim Hague Diagnosed With CTE Via Autopsy
Tim Hague, a former UFC fighter, died from brain trauma after a boxing bout on June 16, 2017 in Edmonton Alberta. He was clearly outmatched being knocked down 3 times in the first round with an arguable 4th knockdown that the referee deemed a slip. In the second round Hague was dropped for a fourth … More Tim Hague Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Edmonton Combative Sports Commission
Update May 29, 2019 – ESPN’s Marc Raimondi reports that this judgement was indeed a default judgement. This means the supplement manufacturer never bothered responding to the lawsuit allowing the court to find them at fault by default and also that the damages being requested were not opposed by anyone. When a Defendant fails to … More Yoel Romero Reportedly Awarded $27.45 million in Tainted Supplement Lawsuit
The disunified rules of Mixed Martial Arts have nothing on Bare Knuckle Boxing. BKB is illegal in most jurisdictions but is slowly enjoying regulation in more States with a variety of unique paths to legality. Wyoming was the first State to sanction the sport. They did so on the basis that it is a variant … More Let’s Talk Florida and Bare Knuckle Boxing
Today USADA announced a 180 degree turn on a doping suspension they handed out in 2017. Amanda Ribas tested positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition urine test conducted on June 7, 2017. USADA handed her a 2 year suspension. Ribas “accepted” this sanction. As the suspension neared completion USADA announced that ‘time served is punishment … More Ostarine, Contamination and a Question For USADA
The Asian combat sports promotion One Championship has just released details of a controversial agent licencing program. In a tweet last night Ariel Helwani published the following details apparently coming from a One Championship press release: …ONE Championship has increased requirements and standards for the ONE Agent Certification Program. The ONE Agent Certification was originally … More ONE Championship Announces Controversial “Agent Certification Program”
