Britain’s Cage Warriors to Require Mandatory Blood Testing
English mixed martial arts promotion
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship announced Tuesday that it
will require all combatants to submit blood tests prior to
competing.
“Now that our research has concluded, it is now mandatory to provide your blood paperwork if you wish to fight on Cage Warriors Fighting Championships. No proof of blood, no fight,” stated Cage Warriors director Graham Boylan in an official release. “If every other promotion in the U.K. also makes blood work mandatory, we’re a step closer to where we should be. If you’re a professional fighter, you should refuse to fight unless you see your opponent’s blood paperwork.”
Whereas MMA in the U.S. is regulated in most areas by state commissions, no such sanctioning bodies exist in the U.K. As such, drug and disease testing is done solely at the discretion of individual promotions.
“Any promotion out there that would like access to the information we’ve gathered regarding how to go about getting fighters tested, please contact us and we’ll gladly provide it,” said Boylan. “Cage Warriors is here for the sport and the fighters.”
Founded in 2001, the promotion most recently presented Cage Warriors 44 in London on Oct. 1. Ivan Musardo captured the vacant lightweight championship by submitting Joseph Duffy with a fourth-round guillotine choke. The event also saw UFC fighter Brian Foster extend his three-fight winning streak after nearly a year away from the cage due to medical issues, as the American also utilized a guillotine to finish Englishman Jack Mason in round one.
“Now that our research has concluded, it is now mandatory to provide your blood paperwork if you wish to fight on Cage Warriors Fighting Championships. No proof of blood, no fight,” stated Cage Warriors director Graham Boylan in an official release. “If every other promotion in the U.K. also makes blood work mandatory, we’re a step closer to where we should be. If you’re a professional fighter, you should refuse to fight unless you see your opponent’s blood paperwork.”
Whereas MMA in the U.S. is regulated in most areas by state commissions, no such sanctioning bodies exist in the U.K. As such, drug and disease testing is done solely at the discretion of individual promotions.
“Any promotion out there that would like access to the information we’ve gathered regarding how to go about getting fighters tested, please contact us and we’ll gladly provide it,” said Boylan. “Cage Warriors is here for the sport and the fighters.”
Founded in 2001, the promotion most recently presented Cage Warriors 44 in London on Oct. 1. Ivan Musardo captured the vacant lightweight championship by submitting Joseph Duffy with a fourth-round guillotine choke. The event also saw UFC fighter Brian Foster extend his three-fight winning streak after nearly a year away from the cage due to medical issues, as the American also utilized a guillotine to finish Englishman Jack Mason in round one.
