Hopkins University School of Medicine, researchers
found that professional MMA competitors suffered the
same percentage of injury as professional boxers.
When one compares the safety of MMA to boxing,
there is even more to be said. Let’s get real here — what
we are talking about is repetitive head trauma and long-
term brain damage. This is far less likely to occur in
MMA, for two very specifi c reasons.
First, in MMA, there are myr-
iad ways for a fi ght to conclude:
technical knockout, knockout,
submission or decision. This es-
sentially has to do with the inclu-
sion and use of ground fi ghting
such as wrestling and Jujitsu, two
combat sports that the Hopkins
study found to be signifi cantly
less riddled with injuries. A professional MMA compet-
itor can win a match by Jujitsu arm bar just as resolutely
as he/she could win by knockout. Arm bars, knee bars,
chokes, leg locks — your limb isn’t going to feel good
the next morning, but your brain is still intact.
Furthermore, in the MMA community it is considered
wise to tap (called “tapping out”) when in the grip of an
inescapable submission, so as to secede from the contest
but preserve one’s body and career. In boxing, there are
only three ways to win: knockout, technical knockout or
decision. Your corner can throw in the white towel, but
no boxer wants that — it is considered shameful.
Second, in terms of striking: Boxing and kickboxing
competitors use 10-ounce gloves; this protects the hand
and allows the boxer to deliver a great deal more trauma
to the head of his opponent as opposed to just knocking
There is also the standing eight-count rule in boxing
and kickboxing, which allows a fi ghter who has been
signifi cantly stunned by blows to have eight seconds of
recovery time before returning to the fi ght. MMA has
no standing eight count and, as Perry explains, “going
back into the fi ght after already receiving head trauma
causes even more opportunity for severe head trauma
and brain damage.”
‘PEOPLE THINK IT’S MORE VIOLENT THAN FOOTBALL OR
RUGBY OR ANY OTHER CONTACT SPORT YOU SEE ON TV,
BUT IT’S NOT. IT’S ACTUALLY WAY SAFER.’
— FIGHT DOCTOR DEWAYDE PERRY ON MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
him/her out. Although the notion of a safe knockout
may sound oxymoronic, the gloves used by MMA
competitors weigh 4 ounces; a well-placed punch from
such a glove will simply knock a person out, which is
safer than permitting further blunt force trauma to the
recipient. “Most amateur MMA fi ghts I’ve seen end by
TKO, in general because of the concern for the safety of
the participants,” Perry says.
Safe or not, MMA is going big time now, and will
be making its way to your standard issue cable TV
soon, alongside football, ice hockey and other contact
sports, all of which have been criticized as too violent
or dangerous.
Similar to those other sports that in this new era will be
showcased alongside MMA, the willing participants are as
safe as they can be within the context of a contact sport. ew
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CLASSES BEGIN OCTOBER 28 TH , 2011
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BIKE RAFFLE!
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