This week the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) brought forth a proposed codification to referee practices after they stop a bout to take a foul. There is presently inconsistency about how referees position fighters after breaking for a foul. In short the new clarification notes that no fighter should be rewarded by … More ABC Proposes Clarifying Fighter Positioning Post Foul
Older fighters require special consideration when it comes to licencing. According to the Association of Ringside Physicians these athletes are at increased risk of “neurological, orthopedic, and ophthalmological injuries” and they require extra care when being cleared for competition. They further note that an athletes “past athletic achievements” matter little and regulators should be instead … More Ringside Doctors – Older Fighters At Increased Risk of Brain, Bone and Eye Injuries
This month the Association of Ringside Physicians, doctors specializing in overseeing the health and safety of athletes at combat sports events, published their latest position statement on headgear. In short they state that “Headguards should not be relied upon to reduce the risk of concussion or other traumatic brain injury. They have not been shown … More Ringside Doctors – Headgear Doesn’t Help With Concussions
From time to time the Association of Ringside Physicians publish consensus statements on various health and safety issues in combat sports. These often guide the positions of athletic commissions that oversee the regulation of these sports. Last month the ARP published their latest and revised position statement on transgender athletes competing in combat sports. In … More Ringside Doctors Say Transgender Athletes Should Not Compete in Combat Sports Against Cisgender Athletes
This week a bout occurred in California (amateur bout overseen by CAMO) where an opponent lost and then won. Caught in a Von Flue choke, tapped out, went out. The referee somehow missed this and the bout continued. The fighter then went on to score a KO victory. The footage speaks for itself. CAMO, like … More A Case For MMA Appeal Reform
CTE cannot be confirmed until after death. However in 2021 criteria were agreed upon to diagnose suspected CTE in the living. Doctors call it Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome (“TES”). This month research was published in the Journal Neurology showing value in the use of the TES diagnosis. In the study, titled Longitudinal Changes in Regional Brain … More Fighters With Suspected CTE Show Reduced Brain Volume and Cognitive Decline in Longitudinal Study
Many studies dealing with brain damage in sport focus on professional rather than amateur athletes. There is no reason to think trauma created harm cares about whether an athlete is being paid or not for their serial brain rattling and gathering data from amateur sport is equally important. To this end a recent study was … More Study – Amateur Boxers Have Triple The Rates of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease Compared To General Population
The UFC reportedly brings in more profit than all other MMA and boxing promoters in the world COMBINED. John Nash of BloodyElbow reports on UFC finances with more detail than any other journalist I am aware of. I will simply let the above fact and the below tweet speak for themselves.
The PFL is an MMA promotion that tries to separate themselves from the pack by having a regular season, playoffs, and seasonal champions in MMA. Real sport with merit dictating advancemnt, not promoter whims. This week, however, the PFL meddled with this format bringing its integrity into quesiton. By way of background Natan Schulte and … More Is the PFL’s “Season” Format Totally Made Up?
This weekend an event in Calgary is being promoted called “The Canadian Knightfall Championships“. Never heard of this? Basically people dressed in full armour with weapons bludgeoning each other. Have a look at the below tweet for reference. Is this legal? Let’s break things down. Like with any novel ‘combat sport’ in Canada the ‘prize … More The Questionable Legality of Knight Fighting
Combat Sports Law 