ESPN.com reports on a new study released in the American Journal of Sports Medicine which cites UFC records in concluding that MMA brain injury is more susceptible than that in boxing and other martial arts.
The new information is being released in time for the legislative session in Albany, New York where the UFC will once again try to legalize the sport of MMA in the state of New York. The UFC has unsurprisingly indicated that the new research is “somewhat flawed,” according to chief operating officer, of the UFC, Lawrence Epstein.
The study, conducted by University of Toronto researchers looked at 844 UFC bouts from 2006 to 2012. The conclusion showed that 13 percent of the fights ended in KOs and another 21 percent ended in TKOs (ref stoppage). These TKOs occur “usually after a combatant was hit in the head five to 10 times in the last 10 seconds before the fight was stopped” according to the Brett Okamoto article.
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The UFC’s response cites the Cleveland Clinic study as its commitment to the safety of athletes. Boxing and MMA organizations are joining together in that study in contributing to the ongoing medical study of early stage signs of brain injury. The latest study from these Toronto researchers, based on how it’s described, appears to make a conclusion only on one source of research (records and video evidence). There appears to be no other source for the study (e.g., interviews with fighters, evaluating medical literature, comparisons with boxing, etc.). What it does is give opponents of MMA in New York evidence to point to in its arguments for the preventing the sport from legalization in the state.
They lack true stand up fighting prowess
This is too bad, . I love mma boxing and the NFL and lately all we read about is brain injury. This is not good for the sport and I hope there are other studies with better results. lets hope no one gets hurt and we can have a healthy sport for everyone.
UFC held a press conference on educating fighters on brian injury in mma a few months…..they’re really trying to get ahead of the lawsuits that are coming in 3 years when all the retired fighters are full blown r*tards….
the issue with legalizing mma in NY is more about labor law than mma….
Fertitas treat their casino/ hotel workers like cr*p and are trying to strong arm the culinary union from their businesses… so the culinary union is throwing their political weight around in NY
Where is Dana White err… I mean “BRAINSMASHER”???
Ahahahahaha
I wouldn’t call this a “study” at least not in the clinical or scientific sense. There are more stoppages in MMA due to TKOs because the ref is forced to jump in if a fighter gets in trouble. Boxers get a chance to clear their heads if they get hurt, and that usually leads them to getting hurt even more.
Under MMA rules Bradley probably gets stopped by Provodnikov in the 1st or 2nd round and doesn’t wind up taking 10 more rounds of punishment.
All this “study” proves is that stoppages are more frequent in MMA. What they should look at is how many strikes to the head in total a fighter takes during a fight. I’m willing to bet that it is much higher for boxers.
“About one-third of professional mixed martial arts matches end in knockout or technical knockout, indicating a higher incidence of brain trauma than boxing or other martial arts, according to a new study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.”
The link between the fight ending in a KO or TKO and higher incidence of brain trauma is incorrect. Abdulsalamov never got knocked down in his fight, so according to the conclusions of this study, he shouldn’t have suffered brain trauma. The deaths that we see in boxing are generally after sustained beatings over multiple rounds. Often the fighters even finish the fight on their feet. Looking only at the moment of the stoppage – as this study seems to – misses the bulk of the damage done.
Unfortunately actual facts mean nothing in today’s world! Just a headline is considered truth. One bias study result can change the dynamics of an entire issue. I don’t want to get into a debate but look at world news and you will find countless scientific studies that are considered fact that have absolutely no credible scientific evidence. Its a complete joke as to what people will believe This is no different
True salda. But I guess I was hoping for better since it was published in a journal of sports medicine.
The facts are that blows to the head are bad. Any kind of repetition of blows is even worse. Soccer players who don’t take near the level of damage of boxers and MMA fighters have been observed to have the same problems. Anyone trying to argue MMA is “much” safer than boxing is crazy, might as well argue cigarettes aren’t that bad. Even crazier if they are arguing that guys in MMA get knocked out or TKO’ed earlier so that gives them some benefit. There is no evidence to suggest that your brain has some magical protection from that kind of damage. Both fighting sports are dangerous and hazardous to your mental health.
fighting isn’t all about standing up
Shiiiiieeeet main