Combat Sports Law

News of a tragic amateur boxing death is making headlines this week. Nathan Valencia, UNLV student, succumbed to injuries and passed away after participating in a frat house run “fight night”. NBC News reports that “the Clark County coroner confirmed Tuesday that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and classified … More “You Don’t Play Boxing” – Frat House Boxing Homicide Leads to Questions

MMAJunkie’s Nolan King did a good job documenting the recent suspension of 20 bare knuckle boxers by the Association of Boxing Commissions (“ABC”). The fighters competed on a card called BKFC Fight Night Montana. The State does not have a ABC member boxing commission. The promoter, BKFC, apparently reached out to State authorities and were … More ABC Suspends 20 Bare Knuckle Fighters in Legally Murky Circumstances

A recent decision of interest was published earlier this month by the US National Labor Relations Board. It involved soccer referees but has valuable lessons for UFC fighters as well. In the recent case the Professional Soccer Referees Association petitioned to represent certain lower league officials, basically those from feeder leagues, into Major League Soccer. … More Soccer Referee Union Ruling Has Valuable Lessons for UFC Fighters Considering Organizing

In recent years the Kansas Athletic Commission took the lead and approved open scoring in combat sports. Following this they compiled data dispelling many myths raised by opponents of the transparent system. Today the Colorado Office of Combative Sports passed a policy proposal bringing open scoring to the State. I reached out to Tony Cummings, … More Colorado Approves Open Scoring in Combat Sports

Update October 5, 2021 – Today the ABC Medical Committee released the below critical comments on the quality of regulation in BKB in the United States ABC MEDICAL COMMITTEE Statement Regarding BARE KNUCKLE BOXING DEATHUncasville, CT – Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) has been gaining in popularity across parts of the United States. Since 2018, early … More Bare Knuckle Boxing Has First Reported Death in the Sport’s Regulated Era

In 2014 I started keeping a list of fighters that were injured (and even died) from rapid extreme weight cuts. In 2016 I stood up before the entire ABC convention in Las Vegas and read North American regulators the list so they cannot feign ignorance. Nothing has changed. In 2019 UFC fighter Aspen Ladd struggled … More Another UFC Fighter Misses Weight Looking Ill on the Scales. Will Regulators Act?

As first reported by Conduct Detrimental, Mark Hunt’s appeal in his doping lawsuit against the UFC has been revived. By way of background Mark Hunt fought and lost to Brock Lesnar in 2017. Prior to the bout the UFC waived their normal doping protocols for Lesnar as an athlete (re)joining the promotion. After the bout … More Appeal Breathes New Life Into Mark Hunt UFC Doping Lawsuit