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So, When Will One of these MMA Guys Die?

We have seen football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, etc players die. Why would it be surprising if a fighter died?

The last/only major league baseball player to die from a game incident was 1920, the NFL has only had one and that was over 40 years ago, I don't think it has ever happened in basketball, hockey or soccer in the US
 
Fractured skull from a knee to the forehead. hmmm? That can't be good.

Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos says he suffered fractured skull in Bellator 158 loss

I still can't believe we call this a sport.

All sports have an element of risk. I just watched a documentary about rock climbing without ropes. MMA is actually highly technical and highly skilled and anyone who doesn't realize that probably hasn't ever seen it. It's not a no holds barred brawl, at all, in fact a lot of fights might be seen as boring because it's not always two guys pummeling each other's brains out. The UFC started as the ultimate contest to test martial arts skills. It's a lot more real than standard karate tournaments where everyone stays standing all the time and just tries racking up points. I've seen the really early UFC stuff and those martial arts systems that could not compete were quickly exposed. It's evolved now to almost it's own system where one needs to be proficient in pretty much everything to have a chance.
 
All sports have an element of risk. I just watched a documentary about rock climbing without ropes. MMA is actually highly technical and highly skilled and anyone who doesn't realize that probably hasn't ever seen it. It's not a no holds barred brawl, at all, in fact a lot of fights might be seen as boring because it's not always two guys pummeling each other's brains out. The UFC started as the ultimate contest to test martial arts skills. It's a lot more real than standard karate tournaments where everyone stays standing all the time and just tries racking up points. I've seen the really early UFC stuff and those martial arts systems that could not compete were quickly exposed. It's evolved now to almost it's own system where one needs to be proficient in pretty much everything to have a chance.

I just see how an intentional knee to the face can be pretty...uh, damaging to the face and skull. Maybe we can reintroduce sword fighting, but without the protective gear.
 
I'm a big MMA fan. There are other plenty of sports that are statistically more dangerous than MMA but yeah, it is dangerous. They are always fine tuning the rules to make it less so, like not being able to kick a person in the head who is on all fours. And this accident will likely result in some changes.

To me the combat sports are the purest sports. One person against the other in the truest sense. Strangely enough I don't actually like the violence part. Meaning I don't like seeing the blood and bruises and broken bones. I know some people like to see the big knock outs. I like all the moments that lead up to that knock out. The cunning and planning and fast reactions. Sure, some matches are just a couple dudes exchanging punches but many are more akin to live action chess.

But in the end it comes down to the fact that consenting adults should be able to participate in dangerous activities. I can't stand nanny state mentality.
 
Fractured skull from a knee to the forehead. hmmm? That can't be good.

Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos says he suffered fractured skull in Bellator 158 loss

I still can't believe we call this a sport.

It's already happened, multiple times.

Mind you, so have people died in the process of boxing, playing football, playing baseball, playing basketball, etc.

And the bigger question ultimately for the sport, is if/when someone may die in the UFC. That's really the true "face" of the sport and is the best equivalent to the major "professional" leagues of other sports.

The reality is, that many of these severe injuries or deaths have occurred in minor and/or local promotions that are more lax in terms of reffing and allow things to go on far to long (the death recently in the UK is a great example of this). For all the people who bitch about the UFC stopping fights early sometimes, it goes a long way in reducing the chance for severe injury or death due to continued punishment.

That leaves basically, at worst, a death due to a freak accident. Which, ultimately, can occur in any sport.
 
The last/only major league baseball player to die from a game incident was 1920, the NFL has only had one and that was over 40 years ago, I don't think it has ever happened in basketball, hockey or soccer in the US

The issue is he's pointing to something like Bellator, which cannot with a straight face be compared to the "MLB" or the "NFL", i.e. the highest level league within that sport.
 
The issue is he's pointing to something like Bellator, which cannot with a straight face be compared to the "MLB" or the "NFL", i.e. the highest level league within that sport.

Yes it can, Bellator is like the AFL or ABA. The level of competition is right on par with UFC
 
It's already happened, multiple times.

Mind you, so have people died in the process of boxing, playing football, playing baseball, playing basketball, etc.

And the bigger question ultimately for the sport, is if/when someone may die in the UFC. That's really the true "face" of the sport and is the best equivalent to the major "professional" leagues of other sports.

The reality is, that many of these severe injuries or deaths have occurred in minor and/or local promotions that are more lax in terms of reffing and allow things to go on far to long (the death recently in the UK is a great example of this). For all the people who bitch about the UFC stopping fights early sometimes, it goes a long way in reducing the chance for severe injury or death due to continued punishment.

That leaves basically, at worst, a death due to a freak accident. Which, ultimately, can occur in any sport.

Yeah. I understand that. And, without question a death in football, auto racing (although rather common), even boxing would be a freak accident. But, in UFC/MMA, bashing in someone's head with a knee, elbow or fist is within the rules of the sport. That's the thing, IMO, which separates it from other sports.
 
Yeah. I understand that. And, without question a death in football, auto racing (although rather common), even boxing would be a freak accident. But, in UFC/MMA, bashing in someone's head with a knee, elbow or fist is within the rules of the sport. That's the thing, IMO, which separates it from other sports.

I'm not sure I understand. Crashing a race car is within the rules of the sport. Hitting a line drive at a pitcher's head is within the rules of the sport. Bare-knuckle boxing in hockey is within the rules of the sport. I'm not really a fan of MMA (I don't follow sports that put their biggest events on PPV), but it is actually relatively safe in the scheme of things. Race car driving, Boxing and American Football, to name a few, are much more dangerous than MMA fighting in terms of deaths and severe injuries.
 
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I'm not sure I understand. Crashing a race car is within the rules of the sport. Hitting a line drive at a pitcher's head is within the rules of the sport. Bare-knuckle boxing in hockey is within the rules of the sport. I'm not really a fan of MMA (I don't follow sports that put their biggest events on PPV), but it is actually relatively safe in the scheme of things. Race car driving, Boxing and American Football, to name a few, are much more dangerous than MMA fighting in terms of deaths and severe injuries.

Could be that racing, football, etc are intrinsically more dangerous than MMA.

I guess, with hockey fights, since the guys are on skates, no one really gets a lot of force behind the blows, and the refs break them up once they hit the ground. It's not like players are fighting each other with their sticks, although I am sure some have tried.

MMA is some strong dudes, no pads, and skull fracturing hits to the head.
 
Could be that racing, football, etc are intrinsically more dangerous than MMA.

I guess, with hockey fights, since the guys are on skates, no one really gets a lot of force behind the blows, and the refs break them up once they hit the ground. It's not like players are fighting each other with their sticks, although I am sure some have tried.

MMA is some strong dudes, no pads, and skull fracturing hits to the head.

I think that's the allure. It looks insanely dangerous, but with the rules of the game, and the refs stopping fights at the hint of a severe injury becoming possible, it's really not all that dangerous. They get banged the hell up, for sure, but serious injuries are extremely rare.
 
I think that's the allure. It looks insanely dangerous, but with the rules of the game, and the refs stopping fights at the hint of a severe injury becoming possible, it's really not all that dangerous. They get banged the hell up, for sure, but serious injuries are extremely rare.

I hope you're right
 
I hope you're right

Well I'm not often right, but on this one I think I am. [emoji6][emoji846] I'm not saying there won't ever be a UFC fighter who gets killed during a fight, but if/when it does happen, it will be an extremely rare occurrence, never a regular thing with the regulations and rules, of which only get more strict. In professional boxing, they pretty much have the same rules as they've always had since the beginning, and those guys are swinging a lot more mass at each others' heads and bodies.
 
Well I'm not often right, but on this one I think I am. [emoji6][emoji846] I'm not saying there won't ever be a UFC fighter who gets killed during a fight, but if/when it does happen, it will be an extremely rare occurrence, never a regular thing with the regulations and rules, of which only get more strict. In professional boxing, they pretty much have the same rules as they've always had since the beginning, and those guys are swinging a lot more mass at each others' heads and bodies.

There are a lot more blows to the head in boxing too.
 
Well I'm not often right, but on this one I think I am. [emoji6][emoji846] I'm not saying there won't ever be a UFC fighter who gets killed during a fight, but if/when it does happen, it will be an extremely rare occurrence, never a regular thing with the regulations and rules, of which only get more strict. In professional boxing, they pretty much have the same rules as they've always had since the beginning, and those guys are swinging a lot more mass at each others' heads and bodies.

Big difference in boxing, more padded gloves, structured combat where blows can be anticipated and if you remember after the last major death they lowered the rounds from 15 to 12 because fatigued people can't defend as well which is another factor against UFC.
 
Fractured skull from a knee to the forehead. hmmm? That can't be good.

Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos says he suffered fractured skull in Bellator 158 loss

I still can't believe we call this a sport.
Why? Because someone gets injured? It happens in all sports.
Yes it can, Bellator is like the AFL or ABA. The level of competition is right on par with UFC
No, no it's not.
Yeah. I understand that. And, without question a death in football, auto racing (although rather common), even boxing would be a freak accident. But, in UFC/MMA, bashing in someone's head with a knee, elbow or fist is within the rules of the sport. That's the thing, IMO, which separates it from other sports.
Yes, not like that football thing...no one gets hit within the rules in that sport... :roll:
Big difference in boxing, more padded gloves, structured combat where blows can be anticipated
True, but it's also repeated blows to the head and multiples knockdowns and standups. In MMA, if you get knocked out for two seconds, the fight is over. In boxing, you have to the count of 10 after you go down and then get to stand back up to get hit in the head again.
 
True, but it's also repeated blows to the head and multiples knockdowns and standups. In MMA, if you get knocked out for two seconds, the fight is over. In boxing, you have to the count of 10 after you go down and then get to stand back up to get hit in the head again.

While that might cause more long term damage it doesn't lend itself to the types of unusual blows that MMA can poduce to cause fatalities
 
While that might cause more long term damage it doesn't lend itself to the types of unusual blows that MMA can poduce to cause fatalities
Statistics say otherwise. :shrug:

Certainly boxing is different now than it once was. But the idea that MMA is more dangerous just isn't supported with any real facts. Breaking an arm is not considered life threatening. Breaking someone's leg, as Weidman did to Silva, is not life threatening. MMA is three rounds of five minutes and most fight time has very little in the way of powerful strikes to the head.

There's nothing to suggest MMA is more dangerous than boxing. And there's a lot to suggest it's less dangerous than auto racing.
 
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