Cannabis Treatments Are Finding a Home in the MMA Fighting Ring
Cannabis Treatments Are Finding a Home in the MMA Fighting Ring
(Bloomberg) -- Cannabis companies are increasingly finding a good fit in mixed martial arts, the tough, anything-goes combat sport.
CbdMD Inc., which makes topicals, tinctures and other CBD-based consumer products, is extending its reach into the cage through a partnership with Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts organization owned by Viacom Inc. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a wildly popular non-intoxicating cannabis compound that’s said by its proponents to help with pain, inflammation and exercise recovery. The U.S. legalized CBD derived from hemp last year.
If anything, Charlotte, North Carolina-based cbdMD is late to the game. Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced last month an exclusive partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to conduct research into the relationship between CBD products and athlete health. And the issuer of the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, the largest pot exchange-traded fund, is the official training sponsor of UFC heavyweight Alexey Oleynik.
Bellator’s multiyear partnership with cbdMD will include category-exclusive branding inside the cage where the fighting takes place. Shares of the CBD company, which already sponsors golfer Bubba Watson, have nearly doubled since the beginning of the year.
“We’re excited to have our company represented in the cage alongside some of the fiercest competitors on the planet,” cbdMD President Caryn Dunayer said in a statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kristine Owram in Toronto at kowram@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Richard Richtmyer
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