Global Fighters' Association seeks £500,000 for combat-sport safety inquiry

The Global Fighters' Association is seeking to raise £500,000 through crowdfunding for a planned inquiry into health, safety and the treatment of participants in combat sports. According to BBC Sport, the non-profit group says it has secured barrister Jonathan Caplan KC to lead the process, which is intended to examine conditions across both grassroots and professional competition.

The proposed inquiry would gather evidence and testimony on safety, governance and participants' treatment, with Caplan tasked with producing a report on the material collected. The association wants that work to support its ambition to become an umbrella organisation for combat sports. The fundraising target and intended scope have been outlined, but the inquiry has not yet produced findings or recommendations.

Former boxer Paul Smith is part of the team behind the association, which was established last year with the aim of creating a union to protect fighters' futures. Smith challenged for a super-middleweight world title three times before retiring in 2017. He told BBC Sport that fighters were being let down by arrangements that left the wider boxing community to raise money after serious problems occurred.

The group highlighted public fundraising efforts in recent months for injured fighters, including Lee Reeves, to help cover emergency care. Smith argued that relying on donations for recovery exposed shortcomings in the sport's support systems. His criticism forms part of the association's case for an inquiry; it is not a conclusion from an investigation that has already been completed.

Beyond the inquiry, the GFA says its priorities include fair contracts, improved pay, insurance and pensions, stronger health and safety standards, and an official route through which fighters can raise concerns. Those are campaigning objectives rather than benefits the organisation has announced it is already providing. The planned evidence-gathering exercise is intended to help identify where changes are needed.

Chair designate Simon Bazalgette said the organisation wanted fighters to receive support comparable to that available in other professional sports. He pointed to developments in participant welfare in rugby, football and horse racing, while arguing that combat-sport athletes lacked equivalent representation and protections. The association's immediate funding goal is directed at the inquiry that it hopes will underpin that wider effort.