Combat Sports Law

A recent trend in Mixed Martial Arts is fighters failing an anti-doping test, being exonerated (or at least minimizing punishment) by tracing the source back to tainted supplements and then suing the supplement manufacturer. Lyman Good filed such a suit in 2017 as did Tim Means.  Earlier this year Yoel Romero also filed such a lawsuit.  … More Josh Barnett Latest UFC Fighter To Sue Supplement Company Following Positive Doping Test

Karate Combat, a self described full contact professional karate league, was launched today.  The effort was supported by pioneer mixed martial artists Bas Rutten and Chuck Liddell who are listed as “League Ambassadors”. They released fight footage from its “pre-season” event which took place in Budapest, Hungary. The leagues rules and regulations were also published … More Bas Rutten and Chuck Liddell Help Launch Professional Karate Fighting League

It has now widely been reported that Canelo Alvarez tested positive for ingesting the banned substance Clenbuterol ahead of his scheduled May 5 rematch with Gennady Golovkin. The failed drug tests were conducted out-of-competition taken through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.  Samples tested on February 17th and 20th were positive for the substance. VADA does not hand … More A Look at the Legal Landscape for Canelo Alvarez’s NSAC Doping Hearing

Today USADA announced that an independent arbitrator handed veteran MMA fighter Josh Barnett a reprimand after testing positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 9, 2016. The drug was traced back to a contaminated supplement. USADA argued for a lengthy suspension trying to hold Barnett’s past doping violations against him. The arbitrator dismissed … More Josh Barnett Handed Public Reprimand After Doping Violation Traced Back to Contaminated Product

In a move that should be noted by all combat sports organizations in Ontario, the Government passed legislation imposing concussion protocols in the Province. The legislation, named Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety), was passed in honour of Rowan Stringer, a 17-year-old rugby player who died following sustaining multiple concussions. The law impacts ‘sport organizations‘ a broad … More Ontario Passes Concussion Safety Law for Amateur Sports

Update March 13, 2018 – Today the NSAC issued their punishment for this infraction handing Calvillo a 9 month suspension and a $6,150 fine (15% of her reported purse). _____________________________________ Cynthia Calvillo’s in competition sample at UFC 219 in Las Vegas tested positive for Carboxy-THC with a concentration above the limit of 180 ng/mL.  Cannabinoids are … More UFC Fighter Cynthia Calvillo Accepts 6 Month USADA Suspension for Marijuana Violation

This week UFC fighter Jon Jones had his mixed martial arts licence revoked by the California State Athletic Commission and was further fined $205,000 for competing with Turinabol in his system at UFC 214. These penalties were just some in a series of possible consequences Jones is facing for the infraction.  The most significant are … More What The Yadav Case Can Teach Us About Jon Jones’ Upcoming USADA Fate