Some controversy has arisen in the past few weeks in mixed martial arts. Back to back UFC main events were derailed after bout ending fouls. One was called accidental. The other intentional. The designation can make a vast difference on bout outcome with results varying (depending on timing and foul designation) of potentially going to … More What Are “Intentional” and “Accidental” Fouls in MMA?
This past weekend the first professional MMA card took place in Canada since the Covid-19 shutdown. RiseFC 6 took place in Victoria BC on March 13, 2021. The BC Athletic Commission was the first Canadian commission to resume operations hopefully paving the way for other Provinces to get professional combative sports back on track. The … More MMA Returned to Canada With Historic Cannabis TUE in Place
Critics of open scoring in mixed martial arts often point to the fact fighters that know they are winning will use that knowledge to coast to victory which will lead to boring fights. Last month the Kansas Athletic Commission, a leading jurisdiction when it comes to experimenting with open scoring, released data suggesting this is … More More Open Scoring Data Reveals Fighters Are Not Coasting to Victory
Today the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports’ (the “ABC”) Medical Advisory Committee released their position noting that cannabis should be treated far lighter than other drugs when it comes to in competition failure. It should be noted that lighter cannabis sanctions should be the norm as of this year by jurisdictions who follow … More ABC Recommends Lighter Cannabis Sanctions
The Unified Rules of MMA require judges to first and foremost determine the winner of any round looking at effective striking and effective grappling. Judges are instructed that these “shall be considered the first priority of round assessments” and if a round winner can be determined using these criteria then no other factors are looked … More Study – Do MMA Judges Undervalue Submission Attempts?
In my latest YouTube video at Combat Sports Lawyer Explains I tackle the old myth of martial artists registering their hands as deadly weapons. Believe it or not there is some truth to this rumour in one US jurisdiction. More practically the law and martial arts training sometimes run into each other in cases of … More Registering Your Hands As Deadly Weapons?
Rapid Extreme Weight Cutting is a prevalent occurrence in mixed martial arts with many injuries and even deaths tied to the practice. The practice is employed with fighters either hoping to gain a size advantage over their opponent, or given how common the practice has become, to prevent having a size disadvantage. A recent study … More Study – Average MMA Fighter Gains Over 8% Body Mass From Weigh Ins to Fight Time
The Kansas Athletic Commission, under the umbrella of the Kansas Department of Commerce, has been one of the more progressive and involved regulators when it comes to making novel changes in combat sports. One of the novel steps the Commission has taken was introducing open scoring to Mixed Martial Arts. Open scoring simply reveals the … More Kansas Athletic Commission Reveals MMA Open Scoring Data
In the latest episode of Combat Sports Lawyer Explains I breakdown how a fight is judged using the Unified Rules. This video explains the following topics – What the Unified Rules are The 10 point must system Deciding who wins a round under the Unified Rules Deciding the margin of victory for a round under … More Scoring an MMA Bout Under The Unified Rules – A Video Breakdown
In the drawn out pandemic that is Covid-19 there is a patchwork of professional sport resumption in Canada. The most notable pro sport back is NHL hockey. The BC Athletic Commission has resumed professional sport as well with an upcoming mixed martial arts event planned next month and professional boxing shortly thereafter. Hard work and … More Competition Act Looms in Background of Pro Sport Pause in Canada
