Abstract

This study aimed to compare time-motion and technical-tactical behaviors of paired rounds of the same Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes in three different situations: cannabinoid doping (n=19 rounds), winning (n=19 rounds) and losing (n=19 rounds). The sample was composed by 57 rounds of 27 bouts from 09 professional Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC®) athletes (age: 27.8±2.8 years old, height: 180.0±7.6 cm, weight: 76.0±16.7 kg, wingspan: 184.6±10.5 cm). The bouts were analyzed according to frequency and action scores (i.e. total strike attacks, strike attacks to the head, body and leg; takedowns, submissions, locks and chokes) and time (sec.) of the standing and groundwork situations separated by low or high intensity. Variance analysis with paired measures and post hoc were used to compare variables and a logistic regression analysis was used to verify the performance prevalence of winning vs. cannabinoid doping bouts, p≤0.05. In conclusion, head strikes scored, and total strikes scored had higher frequencies in winning situations than cannabinoid doping. No further differences were found. MMA athletes should focus on developing competitive strategies for specific situations and should avoid cannabinoid doping.