33. Back Inside the UFC’s Pseudoscience Crisis

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is to professional mixed martial arts what the NFL is to American football, the NBA is to basketball, and the MLE is to hot-dog eating: the world’s premier organization for hosting and promoting the sport. In fact, in the past three decades, the UFC has had more influence on the evolution of mixed martial arts than any other organization. In an article I wrote for Skeptical Inquirer last year (an article that got me Twitter-blocked by UFC President Dana White), I explored the organization’s penchant for alternative therapies— specifically how cupping, cryotherapy, and acupuncture found their way into the UFC’s Las Vegas performance institute. Like a father dealing with his kid’s night terrors, I thought I’d put it to bed. I was wrong. Alternative therapies are just the tip of the UFC’s pseudoscience iceberg.

The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com

Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org

Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/back-inside-the-ufcs-pseudoscience-crisis/

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