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
Adding to this site’s data base of combat sports safety studies, a recent study was published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery reviewing facial injury rates from hundreds of regulated bare knuckle boxing bouts. In the study, titled, Maxillofacial Trauma Patterns in Bare-Knuckle Fighting, the authors reviewed the results of professional bare-knuckle matches that occurred … More 9% of Bare Knuckle Boxing Bouts Result in Facial Fractures
This month the Journal of Emergency Medicine published the latest paper addressing health and safety issues relating to strangulations from grappling sports such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo and other martial arts. The lead author of the paper was Dr. Samuel Stellpflug, an ER Physician and BJJ black belt who is one of the leading … More Strangulation Case Study Highlights Verified Injuries from Sportive “Chokes”
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
Correlation Does Not Equal Causation. Sometimes things are related. But it does not mean one is caused by the other. Science moves slowly and cautiously and now a study has been published taking the important step saying repetitive head impacts in fact “cause” CTE. A research paper, published in Frontiers of Neurology titled Applying the … More Study Finds “Conclusive Evidence” Repetitive Head Impacts Cause CTE
Combat Sports Law 