Boxing Results In Worse Injuries Than MMA

The University of Alberta recently conducted a study that concluded that Boxers endure greater risk for their sport than MMA fighters do for theirs. 

Researchers at the U of A's Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic reviewed a decade's worth of data from medical examinations following mixed martial arts and boxing matches and found that MMA fighters face a slightly higher risk of minor injuries. Boxers, however, are more likely to experience serious harm from concussions and other head trauma, loss of consciousness, eye injuries, smashed noses and broken bones.
... 

In this study, Karpman and U of A Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine colleagues Leah Phillips, Ziling Qin and Doug Gross, and Patrick Reid of the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission, reviewed post-fight records from 1,181 MMA fighters and 550 boxers who fought matches in Edmonton between 2003 and 2013. 

They found that 59.4 per cent of MMA fighters suffered some form of injury in their bouts--significantly higher than the injury rate of 49.8 per cent for boxers. Most of these injuries were bruises and contusions. But boxers were more likely to experience loss of consciousness during the bout (7.1 per cent compared with 4.2 per cent for MMA fighters) or serious eye injuries. 

Boxers were also significantly more likely to receive medical suspensions due to injuries suffered during bouts.

Source: The Guardian

Please read the whole article.

The greater incidence of broken bones in boxing surprised me.  The article doesn't specify, but I assume that means hand and facial fractures.  I thought that the smaller, lighter gloves used in MMA would result in more frequent fractures.  I'd like to see more detailed data.

The greater incidence of "head trauma, loss of consciousness, eye injuries, [and] smashed noses" in boxing definitely did not surprise me.  Boxers are only allowed to punch, and although "working the body" is a big part of boxing, the head is a major target.  MMA fighters can punch, elbow, knee, kick and grapple.  MMA fighters therefore receive fewer strikes to the head.

More importantly, boxing's rules make the sport more dangerous than MMA.  When an MMA fighter gets knocked down, and is dazed unable to "defend himself intelligently", the fight stops.  When a boxer gets knocked down, and is dazed and unable to defend himself, the fight pauses for a count of 10.  That may be long enough for the boxer to stand up and look like he recovered, but his brain is already injured, though the injury may be minor and temporary.  When the fight resumes, the boxer is likely to receive more punches to the head, which can then compound the injury.  That can easily result in a traumatic brain injury, which is why the stereotype of the old, retired, permanently punch drunk boxer is so prevalent.

So, why is boxing - which is more dangerous to its athletes - still so much more widely accepted in North America than MMA?  As I've noted before, it comes down to familiarity.  The article also makes that point, comparing MMA to hockey.

The reality is that football, hockey, rugby, boxing, wrestling and judo are just as violent as MMA, but because they've been around much longer (sort of), their violence is considered more acceptable.

By the way, considering the controversy over traumatic brain injuries in the NFL, I'd really like to see a comparison of injuries between football and rugby.  My guess is that the lack of helmets in rugby results in fewer TBIs.

Fighting for Jesus

Before watching the video, read this excerpt from Vitor Belfort's Wikipedia page.

Vítor Vieira Belfort (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitoʁ bewˈfɔʁt]; born April 1, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in the middleweight division. He holds notable victories over Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, andYoshihiro Akiyama and is currently ranked as the #8 middleweight in the world by MMA Weekly.

 Now watch the video.



I remember when I first heard about his sister's kidnapping before one of his fights and was amazed that he could focus well enough to fight under the circumstances.   I can't imagine what he and his family have experienced; not really knowing what happened to Priscila Belfort, having not even found her body.  I didn't know until watching this video, however, that he is a devout Christian.

That brings up an intriguing phenomenon; mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters who are devout Christians and very outspoken about it.  At first, this seems contradictory.  Beating ones opponent senseless, or forcing him to "submit" by painfully manipulating a major joint or choking him unconscious doesn't seem to square with "love your neighbor as yourself" or "love your enemies".

John Jones throws a head kick while sporting a
Phillipians 4:13 tattoo.

Nevertheless, there is a long list of highly successful MMA fighters who are also outspoken Christians.  Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort are all former champions in their respective weight classes.  Randy Couture held belts in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight classes.  Both Couture and Hughes are UFC Hall of Famers.  John Jones, the current light heavyweight champion, is another.

There are probably more of whom I either don't know or have forgotten.  It's probably common to watch two Christians beat each other up for money on UFC.

Given the growing popularity of MMA in general and the UFC in particular, why haven't Christians embraced these professing pugilists like they have, for example, Tim Tebow?

I suspect the number one reason is that MMA isn't nearly as popular as football, yet, so most Christians are only vaguely aware of it.  Most probably couldn't name an elite fighter.

I think, however, that Vitor Belfort hit on the second major reason; "How you can serve God and you're there punching, kicking..."  Most Christians don't see how the teachings of Christ can be reconciled with a sport as violent as MMA.  And let's face it; MMA is violent.  But that brings us back to something else Belfort said; "What about American football?  What about hockey?"  True.  What about them?  What about Tim Tebow?  I'd argue that football is just as violent as MMA, and probably more dangerous.  Concussions, broken bones and dislocated joints are more common in football than MMA - which shouldn't be surprising in a sport in which much-larger-than-average men regularly slam into each other at full speed.



So, why do Christians readily accept football, but not MMA?  Pretty much every private, Christian high school has a tackle football team, even a wrestling team (wrestling is an essential MMA skill, along with jiu-jitsu and kick boxing - thus the name mixed martial arts), but can you imagine a church or Christian school hosting a local MMA tournament?  I can't.  But why not?  Why does the average Christian embrace the violence of football, but not the violence of MMA?

As I said earlier, I think it's mostly due to familiarity.  The unfamiliarity of MMA forces people to think about what they're watching, rather than just accepting it because it's always been a part of their lives.  So, does that mean that Christians should reject all violent sports, even those familiar to them?  I don't think so.  I think we should embrace them.

Our world is fallen, sinful.  Evil people who willingly injure others are the minority, but that minority causes incalculable suffering.  The only effective way to stop such people from causing suffering is to neutralize them violently.  Sometimes that means through military or police action.  Sometimes that means an 18-year-old mother protecting her baby by killing one of the drugged-out thugs who broke into her house with her late husband's shotgun.

God created a world free from human suffering, but being omniscient, He knew what our world would be like once we introduced sin into it.  Because of that, in His wisdom, He created us with not only the capacity to violently neutralize evil, but the desire to do so.  More specifically, He created men with that capacity and desire.  It's why we are - in general - bigger and stronger than women.  He meant us to protect women and children - violently, when necessary.

Thankfully, it's rarely necessary.  But the instinct is still there.  That instinct is easily corrupted by our sinful nature, especially in boys and young men who haven't learned the self discipline and self control necessary to keep it in check.  Violent, combative sports - such as football, hockey, wrestling, boxing, MMA or any other martial art - provide them with a healthy outlet through which to exercise their violent instinct, ideally under the supervision and discipline of older men who've learned self control and impart those lessons to their young pupils.  

But martial arts (I include boxing and wrestling in this category) are superior in this respect than violent sports like football.  They not only provide an outlet; they provide training.  They make their practitioners more efficient, effective and (perhaps most importantly) more confident in the use of violence, which makes them more capable of defending themselves and others from violence.

In short, Christians should embrace combative sports as tools with which to mold, shape and forge the raw violent instinct in boys and men into something useful and good, as opposed to pretending it doesn't exist or wishing it away as most do now.