Brain damage more likely in MMA than boxing

[RiC-DiC]

I wanna know how many MMA deaths are there every year compared to boxing? It's like, I can't go a month without reading about a boxer from some part of the world dying or getting hospitalized from a brain bleed.. Maybe MMA fighters get concussed at a higher rate because their chins generally suck?

[croz]

Is it not fairly well established that it's the sub-concussive blows that do the most damage in the long run? It's the cumulative damage that is the major issue I think.

no it's not

There's a thing called hear say, but that's not evidence of anything.

[croz]

I wanna know how many MMA deaths are there every year compared to boxing? It's like, I can't go a month without reading about a boxer from some part of the world dying or getting hospitalized from a brain bleed.. Maybe MMA fighters get concussed at a higher rate because their chins generally suck?

It's not comparable. Boxing is infinitely bigger than MMA. There are way more boxers in the world. There have been more pro boxing matches in one year than pro MMA fights in the last 15 years.

[pacmanis1]

So I read the article and I gotta say it doesn't sound too scientific. It sounded like they basically watched videos and guessed if fighters suffered brain damage. I applaud the OP because it's always nice to have threads that aren't just bashing fighters and have some kind of substance, but obviously more research is needed on the subject.

[LA_2_Vegas]

It's good that some time has elapsed now and more studies can be done. Some older mma fighters sound eerily similar to some of the older boxers that we all know. Some part of me thinks that the portion of younger MMA fans who have never watched boxing ..and not seen their favorite fighter retire are still unaware of that hard truth. It can be gut wrenching.

anyway ...Too bad there is no link to the actual study, or at least the abstract. From the sound of the article, I wouldn't exactly say the design of this study was that great - I'm sure they admit the same in the study itself.

They used scorecards and some video tapes and gave their opinion on what was likely to have caused brain damage. There's so much more that could be done on the topic, so we'll just have to wait as more studies come in

[Elotero]

Looks like the old myth that boxers are more prone to brain damage is going the way of all those other myths the MMA guys make up. Click the link for the full story.


A mixed martial arts fighter suffers a traumatic brain injury in almost a third of professional bouts — far more than the rate of such injuries in hockey, football or even boxing, suggests a new Canadian study.

Letting guys throw punches to an already unconcsious and downed man is probably not that safe. (thinking of Cro Cop vs Gonzaga or one of Liddells many KOs)

Heard somewhere awhile back that most of the damage is done when a fighter is already out.

That still doesnt mean Boxing is pillow fighting.

[#1Assassin]

The difference between boxing and mma

In mma you get tagged hard, probably concussed, you fall to the ground, brain swells, and opponent jumps on you and it's waved off by the ref,

Boxing you get tagged hard, probably concussed, you fall to the ground, brain swells, and ref gives you a count, you regroup beat the count, continue fighting with a swollen brain, now any shot hard or glancing does some damage to the swelled brain causing real damage long term

very misleading.

it's the blows that don't knock out out and pile up over a long fight that really take something out of you. sparring, amateur career, and long pro careers of 10 or 12 round contests.


short knockouts are actually better for you in many cases.

sure, but how about blows to the back of the head?

since they were banned in boxing severe brain damage has decreases dramatically. i am well aware it is against the rules in mma as well, but that doesnt keep them from taking damage to the back of the head nearly every fight.

takedowns and slams causing fighters to fall hard on the back of the head, punches landing behind the had due to them being in various positions you wouldnt see in boxing. i have seen fighters get knocked out from trauma to the back of the head several times in mma and it is well known how dangerous it is to take shots there.

this is why boxing is more safe to me, its all speculation obviously but imo.

edit: dont forget fighters do get concussed and keep fighting in mma as well, just look at hendricks vs lawler. taking shots while already unconscious is also very dangerous, which you see quite frequently in mma but seldom in boxing.

[hectari]

If this is true they should ban MMA, thats crazy how high the trauma is it even surpasses Football the most brutal sport by a wide margin.

[Bigg Rigg]

Misleading stat IMO. Boxing is worst because of the amount of blows to the head. There are more head shots in a boxing fight compared to an MMA fight. And what's with the MMA hate??? That **** is poppin', ya need to get up on it if you're not already. I get it, some don't like the grappling but it's not fair to say it's garbage just cuz u don't like it.

[Bigg Rigg]

I wanna know how many MMA deaths are there every year compared to boxing? It's like, I can't go a month without reading about a boxer from some part of the world dying or getting hospitalized from a brain bleed.. Maybe MMA fighters get concussed at a higher rate because their chins generally suck?

They do fight with like 4oz gloves though bro.