Inside the CBD Training Camp with UFC Fighter Chris Camozzi

Despite the taboos around cannabis and professional sports (outside the NBA), last week UFC Middleweight Chris Camozzi announced his personal success with using CBD for recovery after training.

Camozzi found his way to CBD medicine through a training accident. Five weeks out, while preparing for his UFC Fight Night 101 contest against Aussie Olympian Daniel Kelly in Melbourne, things took a turn for the worse.

“I was sparring preparing for Australia — guy went for a takedown and hooked my leg weird,” Camozzi said. “I twisted out a bit, thankfully. Probably would have torn my ACL too.”

Also thankfully for Camozzi, three of Colorado’s leading knee experts happened to be rendezvousing for a birthday dinner with a member of his team. Within hours, Camozzi had doctors examining his knee.

“We met up at eight and they took a look at it,” he said. “They diagnosed me with a torn MCL.”

Chris spoke with his team about the rehab and decided he would try out CBD.

“In my eyes nothing could have made it worse. I had a fight in five weeks,” he said. “Let’s try everything we can.”

He ended up connecting with American hemp-derived CBD distributors, Revivid Sport, and used the company’s tincture while nursing his MCL back to health.

One of the physicians he saw regularly works with the various Denver pro athletes; he said he’s never seen a MCL heal as well and as fast as Camozzi’s.

Camozzi, who has had his share of time of recovering from injuries, just added CBD oil to standard rehab practices for the injury.

This week saw the announcement that Camozzi would face Swedish heavy hitter Magnus Cedebland at UFC Fight Night 109 in Stockholm, Sweden May 28.

This will be his second full training camp supplementing his nutritional regime with CBD. He’s already seeing unexpected benefits.

“After my knee injury I continued to take [CBD],” Camozzi said. “My shoulder ended up getting better too.”

Previously Camozzi hadn’t been sure if he was going to have to go under the knife for that one also.

For training camp, Camozzi is currently taking two droppers full of CBD tincture each day; one in the morning and one at night. On hard sparring days, which occur once a week, he’ll take an extra dropper before the session commences.

We asked Cammozi why he preferred the hemp-derived CBD to products containing a wider spread of active cannabis like THC.

“I have tried the full spectrum,” he said, “but I’m educated about USADA.”

Having a suspension levied by the United States Anti-Doping Agency is a career-threatening prospect for any MMA fighter these days. So far, the USADA has only had two enforcement actions relating to THC: Nate Diaz’s post fight supposedly-CBD vape puffing and Diego Brandao’s ongoing suspension, which hasn’t prevented him from fighting outside the UFC.

Outside the octagon, CBD laws and policy have made news all over.

Camozzi shared his thoughts on the recent uproar around DEA classification actions around CBD extract.

“It’s insane they try to classify CBD in such a way,” he said, adding that he felt federal marijuana law around THC is equally infuriating for any reasonable and responsible citizen.

So far he is pleased with reactions from the community on his decisions to discuss his CBD use.

“Everything has been really positive,” Camozzi said. “A ton of fighters use it but aren’t open to talking about it. I don’t mind talking about it.”

Camozzi said the reason he’s so comfortable with a public discussion about his CBD use is the level of disclosure he’s had with USADA — he’s filed the appropriate paper work needed with them and they had no problems.

“I don’t want to play the dumb card,” he said.

Camozzi’s only affiliation with Revivid, apart from using it, is carrying it on his popular online shop PerformanceMMA.com

TELL US, do you use CBD tinctures?