We’ve talked before about how psychedelic micro-dosing has been getting more popular by the day. One area of support we would never have seen coming, however, would be from inside the UFC. Reports say the Ultimate Fighting Championship has approached researchers at Johns Hopkins University for a new treatment regarding psychedelics. Let’s see what it’s all about!

“Hey, find out what this is about (...) We want to be on board and we want to be first”

Spencer Fisher

It all started with UFC veteran Spencer Fisher. The fan-favorite fighter with the nickname ‘The King’ has reportedly been declared permanently disabled - a tragic thing that has now evolved to stages where he even forgets the names of his three children. But when asked about Fisher’s condition, UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports that the promotion has approached the researchers famous for their psychedelic studies to look into what psychedelic micro-dosing might be able to do for him.

“They’re micro-dosing psychedelics and they’re saying that it’s helping some of these guys with brain injuries,” White said. “We’ve talked to Johns Hopkins and we’re working on getting us involved with that too. ... The list goes on and on of all the things that we’ve done to try to improve the sport”, he continued. Dana White has been the companies president since 2001, after two brothers acquired the UFC for 2 million dollars. In 2015, the UFC had a gross revenue of at least 600 million dollars.

Also read: Man injects magic mushrooms and they continue to grow in his body

UFC and psychedelic studies

UFC senior vice president of health and performance Jeff Novitzky told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that the promotion’s interest came after a certain HBO segment called Real Sports, where Bryant Gumbel aired an item on the research being done psychedelics. He stated some former fighters have experienced remarkable improvements after undergoing these treatments, something that might prove useful for other fighters as well.

Dana White told the company to look into it. "Dana said, 'Hey, find out what this is about,'" Novitzky said. "To see if it does help with some traumatic brain injury, addiction, mental-health problems. We want to be on board and we want to be first”, according to Novitzky. He also stated the UFC could become a benefactor of a psychedelic study, with the possibility of recruiting current or former UFC fighters to take part.

Also read: Americans looking forward to psilocybin-retreats

Or… just not fight at all

But while psychedelic micro-dosing might prove useful for UFC-fighters in the future, the best bet you have to not get damaged is to - well - not fight at all. “Everybody who gets involved in this sport, nobody is under the misconception that getting punched in the head is good for you,” White said. “Getting punched in the head is really bad for you. We all know it going in, the people who participate in it, the people who promote it, the people who watch it and the people who cover it. This is one of the facts of combat sports and contact sports as a whole (...) Spencer Fisher definitely isn’t the first and he won’t be the last.”