UFC 274 takes place on Saturday at Footprint Center in Arizona. The UFC’s current lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, headlining the event, reportedly missed weight today coming in half a pound over the championship limit. He apparently will be stripped of his promotional title at the beginning of tomorrow’s bout. There is some suggestion that the … More Arizona Has Some Explaining to To After Charles Oliveira Weigh In

This week an open letter endorsed by 121 current and former athletes, coaches and officials of Boxing Canada called out the National Sport Organization and monopoly of amateur boxing in the country for various practices. The letter was republished with permission by Global Athlete and is the latest of a series of complaints critical of … More Boxing Canada Called Out For Ignoring Concussions

In the world of combat sports there is always a weaker link. In the US commissions vary from State to State and Tribal Commission to Tribal Commission. In Canada they vary from Province to Province. Then, in the unique Province of Alberta it breaks down even more with commissions varying from City to City. Adding … More Athletic Commission Offers to Give One Eyed Michael Bisping a “Permit” to Fight Jake Paul

Missouri Office of Athletics Executive Director Tim Lueckenhoff recently circulated a memo notifying industry stakeholders of increased fees for combat sports events (HT to Carla Duran and Journey Pro KC). Event permits for many disciplines increased. Second and amatauer contestant licence fees did as well. Lueckendoff noted these increases are only the second in the … More Missouri Levies Promoter Tax for Complimentary Tickets At Combat Sports Events

Last year the Colorado Office of Combative Sports made headlines by amending their rules to clear the way for alternate MMA rulesets including the loved by many “Pride Rules” that promotions like ONE Championship use overseas. Colorado also became the first US State to hand out a Therapeutic Use Exemption for in competition cannabis use … More Colorado Proposes Removing Cannabis From Banned List, Adding Up to 5 Judges and Other Combat Sports Reforms

The dangers of rapid extreme weight cutting in combat sports are well documented. Kidney failure, heart attacks and even deaths are attributed to the practices. Regulatory responses to date have been inconsistent and have failed to meaningfully weed out the well entrenched practices. This week a regulator used their power to suspend a fighter who … More Fighter Suspended For Extreme Rapid Weight Cutting

Dr. Nitkin Sethi, a respected ringside physician and neurologist in New York, wrote an interesting letter to the Journal Neurology discussing MRI findings that are often minimized by radiologists but could be concerning for combat sports athletes. When your physician orders an MRI they often don’t see the raw data generated. Instead this is reviewed … More Brain Injury Slipping Through The Cracks For Fighters?

Transparency in pay is a fundamental feature empowering fighters to better understand their value and have informed negotiations with promoters. Knowledge is power. A troubling trend, however, is an increasing number of jurisdictions cloaking prizefighting pay in secrecy keeping fighters in the dark as to what others are earning. Arizona appears to be the latest … More Arizona Latest State To Go Dark On Fighter Pay

While Jake Paul talking trash about Dana White and the UFC pay structure brings a lot of entertainment (and headlines) in the background the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association have been fighting legal and political battles for improvement for over a decade. These battles have quietly but surely yielded positive results. The MMAFA is the … More MMAFA Highlight Hard Fought Successes For Fighters