Combat Sports Law

The definition of a grounded fighter in MMA is important as knees and kicks to the head of such an opponent are prohibited.  In 2016 the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (the “ABC”) softened the rule with the belief that some fighters were gaming the system by changing from standing to grounded by … More ABC Overhauls “Grounded” Fighter Definition in Hopes to Re-Unify Rule

Update July 30, 2019 – Today the WBC handed Whyte a provisional suspension releasing the following statement An “A” Sample UKAD collected from Mr. Dillian Whyte in relation with his bout against Oscar Rivas yielded an adverse finding. In light of that adverse finding, and pending the outcome of the WBC’s own investigation and adjudicatory … More Should Dillian Whyte Have Been Provisionally Suspended by the UKAD Before The Rivas Bout?

Cannabis remains banned in-competition under the UFC’s custom tailored USADA anti doping program.  Today USADA revealed that Alen Amedovski was handed a 6 month suspension for testing positive for Carboxy-THC at a urinary concentration exceeding the permitted limits for the in-competition timeframe on April 20, 2019, at Fight Night 149 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His … More UFC’s Alen Amedovski Receives USADA Supsension for Marijuana

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

The below article was first published in June 2019 and is updated as new jurisdictions legalize Bare Knuckle Boxing ________________________________________________________ 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 … 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