UFC to Fund Research on CBD’s Effects on Fighters’ Health
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a leading international professional fighting league, announced last week that it has entered into an official partnership with Canadian cannabis company Aurora. The goal is to conduct clinical trials on various types of CBD-containing products for treating different injuries sustained by athletes during fights. The focus will be on cannabinoid forms that do not directly affect athletic performance or cause intoxication, potentially offering a safe alternative to opioid substances.
According to league officials, a multi-million dollar sponsorship agreement has already been signed with Aurora, under which the company will provide extracts made from industrial varieties of cannabis for the trials. UFC representatives say the league has long been searching for a remedy that could speed up fighters’ recovery after matches without significantly impacting their perception or physiology.
CBD’s Effects on Strength and Endurance
Most of the new research will take place not in laboratories, but at the UFC’s Las Vegas training center, where local laws are favorable for such experiments. A team of active league athletes will participate in the study. Medical professionals will measure the effects of CBD on pain, fatigue, and inflammation, as well as on the athletes’ psychological state and their ability to recover between fights.
The project will be led by Dr. Jason Dyck, a professor of molecular medicine at the University of Alberta and a member of Aurora’s board of directors responsible for innovation and research.
Previously, UFC and its current president, Dana White, were rather reserved about athletes’ use of cannabis. However, the league’s leadership has now shown interest in studying the therapeutic properties of cannabis.
“We hope this new program will allow us to fundamentally change the current therapy regimen athletes use between matches,” White told reporters. “The agreement with Aurora will help us usher in a new era of organic and safe injury therapy for the UFC.” Aurora CEO Terry Booth is also enthusiastic about the future of the joint project with UFC.
“It’s quite possible that UFC fighters will be the first athletes to actively use cannabis for therapeutic purposes,” he told journalists. “I believe that, following our partnership’s example, other sports leagues in the country and around the world will also pay attention to the benefits of using cannabis after physical activity. In turn, this development could significantly advance reforms regarding the legalization of cannabis or CBD extracts, both in the U.S. and globally.”
The History of UFC’s Opposition to Therapeutic Cannabis
Over the past three years, UFC athletes have actively fought for access to CBD. The movement gained momentum in August 2016, when Nate Diaz publicly used a cannabis extract with an electronic vaporizer. Although his brother claimed there were no cannabinoids in the vape, the incident sparked a movement supporting the legalization of therapeutic cannabis for league athletes.
Despite warnings from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and league officials, Diaz continued to publicly support cannabis use among athletes. “It doesn’t matter what I did or what the league’s leadership wants us to do,” he said in an interview about eight months after the incident. “I believe that this kind of ‘advertising’ for the cannabis industry will draw attention to the fact that the plant can be a cheaper, more accessible, and safer organic alternative to the painkillers currently popular in the league.”
Currently, many well-known UFC fighters have various cannabis companies producing therapeutic CBD extracts among their official sponsors. In addition to Diaz, current league champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Hall of Fame candidate Rashad “Suga” Evans also have such sponsors.
Jackson himself has spoken favorably about using CBD to treat sports injuries and thanked other athletes for their public support of legalizing therapeutic cannabis in the league. “It’s great that the actions of Diaz and other athletes set a precedent, thanks to which we finally gained at least limited access to CBD,” the champion noted. “Personally, I try to use cannabis not only after fights but also after training, as it helps my body and mind recover quickly from all the stress.”