Adding to this site’s efforts to track the growing legality of Bare Knuckle Boxing, New Mexico has recently approved the sport. Title 15, Chapter 6, Part 19 came into force last year and sets out the framework for legal BKB in the land of enchantment. The full rules read as follows: TITLE 15             GAMBLING AND LIQUOR … More New Mexico Joins Jurisdictions With Legalized Bare Knuckle Boxing

At this year’s Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports annual conference changes to the unified rules of MMA were agreed to, namely up to 5 minutes of recovery time after eye pokes and clarity on the kind of joint coverings that can be used. The ABC has now published the updated version of their … More Latest MMA “Unified” Rules Now Published

Today retired MMA fighter published quite the tweet. I’ll let it speak for itself. If this was revealed in any major league sport it would be top news on ESPN, Sports Illustrated and probably major outlets outside of sports. But in MMA crickets. Let me break down the legal scandal in plain English. Managers represent … More Its High Time For Athletic Commissions to Dig Into MMA Manager Practices

Today the World Boxing Council published the below, self explanatory, statement on their view of transgender athletes in professional combat sports. If the topic is of interest, this year at the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports annual conference a lengthy presentation on the subject was given by Dr. Sethi who’s materials can be … More WBC Releases Statement/Guidelines Regarding Transgender Athletes in Combat Sports

A lawsuit was filed following the death of a teenage hobbyist boxer in Australia. The boxer, George Diamond, passed away after sustaining traumatic brain injury in 2019 while sparring. Shortly before that the teenager suffered a concussion while sparring at the same gym. The teen’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Supreme Court in … More Brain Health Ignorance Allegations Fuel Lawsuit Following Boxer Death

If you read state, provincial and other combat sports laws and regulations you often come across out of date, bizarre and sometimes outright wrong legislation on the books. Enter South Carolina. This week I had reason to review South Carolina’s combative sports landscape and came across a law that seems to have no business being … More Let’s Talk South Carolina Fight Laws and “Breast Exams”

The Nevada State Athletic Commission, one of the most influential in combat sports, has published a notice of public workshop for public feedback on proposed overhauled combat sports regulations. The workshop is scheduled Monday, August 15, 10am – 12pm at 3300 W Sahara Ave., Red Rock Room #440, Las Vegas, NV 89102 The Commission has … More Nevada Holding Public Hearing About Possible Combat Sports Rules Overhaul

Update September 1, 2022 – I am very proud to announce this project has been a success and the ABC has agreed to create an official Fighters Committee. Details here! __________________________________________ Update August 2, 2022 – As of this morning the letter has grown to over 215 names. At the bottom of the article is … More Over 200 Fighters Petition ABC For A Seat At The Table

Perhaps no rule is more dis-unified under the unified rules than the grounded fighter rule. Despite the near unanimous adoption of a change to this rule at the ABC Annual Conference in 2016 jurisdictions have been very scattered in formally adopting the rule to their own state laws / regulations. To fix this the ABC … More ABC Proposes New “Grounded Fighter” Rule in MMA

How do you score an MMA bout? The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports rules subcommittee has created a visual aid called the MMA “scoring ladder” to help make it easier to understand. This is not a change to the unified rules. It does not add or alter any of the current criteria. It … More ABC Introduces MMA “Scoring Ladder”