Combat Sports Law

In Part 2 of my latest YouTube video at Combat Sports Lawyer Explains I canvass the World Anti Doping Agency’s test for Therapeutic Use Exemptions and explain how the first ever TUE by an athletic commission met this test for medical marijuana. If you are looking for more on this topic here are some quick links: Part … More Cannabis For Fighters Part 2 – Therapeutic Use Exemptions

In my latest YouTube video at Combat Sports Lawyer Explains I tackle all things cannabis under WADA’s prohibited list. If you are looking for more on this topic here are some quick links: ABC Recommends Lighter Cannabis Sanctions WADA Creates “Substances of Abuse” Category For Anti Doping MMA Returned to Canada With Historic Cannabis TUE in Place A Simple Fix … More Cannabis for Fighters and the WADA Prohibited List

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?