Update April 13, 2014 – The Wyoming State Board of MMA has responded to criticism of the below conduct with the following self serving comments: All parties, including Mr.Maranhao, believed and stated unequivocally that Mr. Maranhao was medically safe to and capable of finishing the fight…. The Wyoming State Board of Mixed Martial Arts stands … More Licencing Consequences Following Wyoming Fighter Collapse?
One issue that separates MMA from other mainstream sports is the accessibility of athlete pay information. The public has ready access to salaries paid to athletes in the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB. Even individual sports such as golf and tennis have publicly announced purses. In the world of MMA fighter pay is far less clear. … More Insight Into Ronda Rousey’s Fight and Endorsement Pay
What happens when a fighter walks out to music in a live combat sports event without proper licencing arrangements in place? Reasons for judgement were released in late 2013 addressing this issue (with the Supreme Court of the United States denying certiorari on March 31, 2014). In short the artist can seek statutory damages or elect … More Combat Sports Walk Out Music and Copyright Lawsuits
UPDATE April 7, 2014 – The Full CSAC Arbitration Decision is now available and can be found here: CSAC Ronda Rousey Aribtration Decision ______________________________________________________________ The California State Athletic Commission’s arbitration powers made headlines this week with Andy Foster releasing UFC champion Ronda Rousey from provisions of her contract with Fight Tribe Management that relate to “professional … More What the Ronda Rousey Arbitration Can Teach MMA Managers and Team Takedown
In a positive step towards cleaning up doping in MMA, the Maryland Athletic Commission appears to have taken advantage of Zuffa’s offer to pay for enhanced PED testing. BloodyElbow reports that “UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones recently revealed that he is currently undergoing random blood and urine tests under the watch of the Maryland State Athletic Commission … More Maryland Athletic Commission Takes Advantage of Zuffa PED Test Funding Offer
_________________________ At this week’s Canadian Bar Association combat sports legal conference I asked the UFC’s lawyer, Michael Mersch, whether Zuffa has any plans to conduct regular, random, out of competition PED testing for their contracted fighters. In short his answer was no however the details of his reply give good insight that, should a lawsuit … More How (and why) Athletic Commissions Can Clean Up PED Abuse in MMA
Findings were published in this month’s American Journal of Sports Medicine studying “incidence, risk factors, and characteristics of knockouts (KOs) and technical knockouts (TKOs) from repetitive strikes in professional MMA“. The study focused specifically on UFC’s pay per view cards. The study concludes that “Rates of KOs and TKOs in MMA are higher than previously … More “Rates of KOs and TKOs in MMA are higher than previously reported “
Like all major sporting organizations, the UFC is aware of legal threats their business model poses and considers legal strategies in response to these. On March 25, 2014 the UFC’s Michael Mersch and Tom Wright along with two local attorneys hosted the Canadian Bar Association’s Professional Development … More Insight Into Zuffa’s Concussion Lawsuit Defence Strategy
UPADATE – After a series of setbacks this event was pushed back from its June date and is now scheduled to take place on October 3, 2014. ___________________________________________________________________ It is reported that the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has approved a one night, 8 man elimination MMA tournament. Promoted as the “Battlegrounds ONE Tournament” it is advertised as … More What the ABC Thinks About Oklahoma’s One Night Elimination MMA Tournament
It is rumored that, following WSOF Canada’s Ford v. Powell card, fighter pay issues arose with some cheques issued being cancelled or otherwise not clearing. I reached out to WSOF Canada to verify these rumours but at the time of publication they have yet to respond: _____________________________ I am advised by a source … More Fight Purse Uncertainty – A Problem That Should Never Happen
Combat Sports Law 