UFC And Sports & Wellbeing Analytics Announce Collaboration To Enhance Fighter Safety In Combat Sports

The joint effort will feature the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI), the world’s leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center, working in conjunction with SWA to implement the PROTECHT advanced in-mouth sensor system, which is designed to monitor an athlete’s heart rate and head impacts in real time through an instrumented mouthguard.  The resulting measurements will provide instant feedback to UFC PI coaches and staff, who can analyze the data to provide recommendations for injury prevention, customized training programs, and load management strategies for the well-being of the fighters.

SWA’s innovative sensor technology is embedded in state of the art and regulatory approved mouthguards. The UFC PI will have access to PROTECHT smart mouthguards, which will be offered to select UFC athletes for the purpose of further integrating real-time head impact and heart rate monitoring into the UFC PI’s ongoing athlete research initiatives. UFC had previously pilot tested the PROTECHT system on a limited basis.

“We’re thrilled to expand our collaboration with SWA,” said Dr. Duncan French, Senior Vice President, UFC Performance Institute.  “The use of PROTECHT sensor technology is a revolutionary step in our understanding of athlete physiology by giving us access to data points that were previously impossible to detect in a combat sports environment. With the PROTECHT system, we can view a fighter’s heart rate and head impact data during and across training sessions and in live fights. This enhanced data improves a fighter’s ability to address peak performance, load management, brain injury detection, and recovery- all of which are essential to the longevity of professional athletes.”

“We are delighted to be working with the UFC Performance Institute,” said Caspar Hobbs, SWA’s CEO.  “We have been collaborating with them for nearly two years in trials and they are truly at the vanguard of science in sport, specifically in relation to the wellbeing and performance of their athletes.  We sincerely hope that this agreement will bring even greater benefits to the amazing athletes on the UFC roster.”

Prior to the launch of this new research collaboration, UFC had used the PROTECHT system on a limited basis, most notably at Noche UFC, the groundbreaking first live sports event at Sphere in Las Vegas. The use of the PROTECHT mouthguards marked the first time live heart rate-tracking technology was used in combat sports.

Five fighters wore the PROTECHT instrumented mouth guards in live competition, including the main event participants, Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.  During their bouts, the fighters’ heart rates were tracked, analyzed, and displayed in real time on Sphere’s massive LED interior media plane and on the television broadcast.

The PROTECHT instrumented mouthguard has the ability to accurately measure extrinsic load (impacts) as well as intrinsic physiological load (heart rate) of training and competition.  The amalgamation of extrinsic and intrinsic workload monitoring has never been achieved in combat sports before with such validity and reliability. 

This collaboration between the UFC PI and SWA underscores UFC’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge sports science and technology to safeguard fighter health while enhancing training and performance protocols. 

With UFC integrating SWA’s heart rate and impact-monitoring technology into its world-class UFC PI facilities, UFC continues to lead the way in evidence-based training methodologies, setting new standards in fighter welfare and combat sports research.

For more information about the UFC PI, please visit ufcpi.com

For more information about SWA, please visit swa.one.