Combat Sports Law

Two months ago I discussed legal developments in Quebec with Montreal shutting down Brazilian Jiu Jitsu contests threatening participants and promoters with criminal charges for illegal ‘prize fights’. The law  the police were threatening others with was never meant to apply to amateur grappling contests.  Several people, myself included, reached out to Senator Runciman, the … More Senator Runciman – Montreal Calling BJJ Illegal is “Inconceivable”

A decision was published recently by the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) finding Group One Holdings Pte Ltd, the company that owns and operates One Championship, guilty of  “Reverse Domain Name Hijacking”. In the recent case (Group One Holdings Pte Ltd . Steven Hafto) the respondent registerd the domain name onechampionship.com in October, 2006, many years … More One Championship Found Guilty of “Reverse Domain Name Hijacking”

Last week I had the pleasure of appearing on Jason Floyd’s The MMA Insiders Podcast where we discussed many legal topics in the MMA landscape.  The full interview can be found here. For those visiting for the first time, welcome!  For more information on some of the topics canvassed here are some quick links for … More Welcome MMA Insiders Listeners

An interesting study was published recently in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology reviewing published literature involving CTE in athletes looking for an explanation for the variation in clinical presentation between athletes of different sports. The full study,  titled Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes Involved with Highimpact Sports, can be found here. Two combat sports … More Study – Why are CTE Symptoms Worse for Boxers vs. Other Athletes?

Adding to this site’s archived combat sports safety studies a recent study was published in the Journal of Athletic Training analyzing peer-reviewed publications looking to draw conclusions about the utility of head impact measuring devices in diagnosing concussion. In short the authors noted these devices are poor for determining concussion concluding as follows: Measurements collected by … More Study – Head Impact Measuring Devices Poor in Determining Concussion

Update – This week the NYSAC dismissed Weidman’s appeal Update – Today the NYSAC released a statement defending the result noting “In New York State, it has been held that the Commission may review video evidence in order to meet its obligation to render correct determinations and act in the best interest of the sport“. … More Legal Considerations in Chris Weidman’s Appeal

Update – the NYSAC has now, fortunately, reversed this decision and Gonzalez has been cleared to fight _______________________________________ As first reported by Marc Raimondi, the New York State Athletic Commission  pulled Pearl Gonzalez from her UFC 210 bout on Friday morning because she has breast implants.  This occurred after she officially weighed in. While a … More Legal Thoughts on New York Athletic Commission Breast Implant Controversy

Update June 2, 2017 – today the NYSAC rejected Anthony Johnson’s disciplinary complaint against Cormier.  It is worth noting that they have overhauled their weigh in rules since the Cormier incident.  The NYSAC’s full letter denying Johnson’s request can be found here (courtesy of Marc Raimondi) ______________________________________________ This morning some controversy arose during Daniel Cormier’s … More Legal Breakdown of Daniel Cormier Weigh in Controversy

Today the World Anti Doping Agency published their 2015 Anti-Doping  Rule Violations (“ADRV”) Report.  The full report can be found here. Combative sports only made up 2 of the top 10 sports with the most anti-doping rule violations.  Specifically boxing and wrestling placed 8th and 9th on the list. Of the overall adverse samples, 65% resulted in … More WADA’s 2015 Statistics Shed Light on Doping in Combat Sports