Two MMA Fighters and a Bodybuilder Walk Onto a Cannabis Panel…

This year’s speaker panel focus was about looking to the concerns for the region next year. Our normally advanced cannabis cultivation and regulatory panel topics were replaced with some of the pressing questions of next year. What IS the craft market? Who’s USING cannabis products and what resonates with them. How do you mitigate testing issues and where should you focus your efforts?

We created a panel entitled, “Brain Injury and Cannabis — A World Class Athlete Perspective” to discuss head injuries and the use of cannabis as a therapy.

“Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are usually caused by a violent blow to the head, which can happen when your job is to compete in the ring or dominate on the football field…on this panel you’ll hear right from athletes who have seen the effects for themselves.”

Pete Williams, Former MMA fighter and Inductee to Hall of Fame

On this panel we have UFC 2016 Hall of Fame inductee, Pete Williams, for his roundhouse kick knockout win against Mark Coleman in their 1998 bout. A member of the famous Lion’s Den fight team, founded by Ken Shamrock, Pete’s reputation precedes him.

“The time I had on the feet, I was using that low kick to kind of soften him up and set up the high kick,” Williams said. “After a few hard low kicks, I noticed he was trying to protect the leg, dropping his hands. I just kind of timed it.

“I threw a fake right hand and threw the kick instead, and it landed right on the money.” – quote courtesy of MMAJunkie.com

What followed was pure elation. Williams had shocked the world.

Mikey Burnett, Former MMA Pro Fighter & Lions Den Member

Also on the panel is Pete’s former team mate and professional UFC fighter Mikey Burnett from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Known as “The Eastside Assassin”, Mikey Burnett was a member of The Lion’s Den and had a 5-2 career from 1996-1999.

He won two of his three UFC bouts, besting Eugenio Tadeu and Townsend Saunders while falling to Hall of Famer Pat Miletich in a welterweight title fight. He retired following his last Octagon appearance but made a brief comeback at “The Ultimate Fighter 4,” – quote courtesy of http://sherdog.com

Mikey’s relationship with cannabis started when his doctor in Oklahoma suggested he try cannabis when he complained about the use of opiods. Since cannabis is illegal in his state, his relationship was started in hiding and guilt that he was breaking the law. A father of two, his hyper-awareness that society around him and his own kids were watching and judging it took years for Mikey to learn to embrace the benefits of cannabis and to now feel comfortable being an advocate for its use today.

Emeric Delczeg – Former Professional Bodybuilder, IBFF Pro

To round out the panel, we have Emeric Delczeg, who was born in 1952 in Romania, and emigrated to USA legally in 1982. He was overall Romanian bodybuilding champion in 1981 and Middleweight Eastern European champion in the same year. Emeric represented Romania in 4 World amateur bodybuilding championship contest, and as IFBB pro from 1997 till 2001.

As a bodybuilder, the strain put on the body is intense and muscle and overall recovery is a constant consideration. Emeric credits cannabis as a tool and therapy providing a better quality of life.

It’s no surprise that more athletes are voicing their thoughts on cannabis and advocating for its use professionally in sports. CBD use for injury recovery in sports is becoming an increasingly discussed topic but full spectrum cannabis has many targeted uses for specific treatment and therapies. We are excited to share these former, world class athletes perspectives and experiences with the cannabis plant.