MMA: Why It's Not as Dangerous as Detractors Would Have You Believe

Mixed martial arts is a full-contact sport. It's violent. It can sometimes be bloody, and combatants do suffer injuries both in training and during the fights.

These aspects of MMA are inevitable, but that doesn't mean that it is any more dangerous than other contact sport, such as boxing.

However, that still doesn't keep detractors from wrongly portraying MMA; often castigating it as a barbaric display of ultra-violent machismo that only those with an insatiable bloodlust can enjoy.

The problem is those detractors want to look at the sport through the same prism that Sen. John McCain used nearly 15 years prior and simply ignore the fact that, in that time, MMA has evolved.

When the UFC debuted in 1993, it was rough-and-tumble, a no-holds-barred tournament where little was off limits. It was these early fights that Sen. McCain famously characterized as "human cockfighting" back in 1996.

He walked back that statement in 2007 (when he was making a run at the White House) after the sport instituted a much stricter set of rules and guidelines, but that doesn't change the fact that most uninformed pundits still hold that view of MMA.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board set up the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that made illegal many of the more devastating strikes such as kicking a downed opponent in the head. These rules have since been adopted by other state regulators when sanctioning MMA events.

Still some took the mischaracterization of the sport one step too far, like in February when Republican South Dakota Rep. Steve Hickey stated via his blog that "MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports."

This baseless comparison not only borders on the libelous, but also highlights Mr. Hickey's lack of familiarity with the sport. He goes on to bemoan that MMA is only one step removed from Roman gladiatorial competition and "... there are growing numbers of MMA deaths in sanctioned and unsanctioned fights."

And while it is true that seven fighters unfortunately have died in MMA bouts over the last 20 years, the idea that the number is growing by leaps and bounds just isn't true.

Especially when taken in comparison with the deaths that have occurred in a boxing ring over the same period of time.

The Manuel Vasquez Boxing Fatality Collection, which does extensive research into boxing-related deaths, has found that nearly 150 boxers have died globally since the 1990s.

Yes, the numbers aren't necessarily proportional, but the point is that boxing has exponentially more deaths than MMA; however, it is MMA that is overly scrutinized. Even Mr. Hickey gives boxing a pass.

When the bill to sanction combat sports reaches the Commerce and Energy Committee, he plans to introduce an amendment that would create the South Dakota Athletic Commission to regulate boxing and wrestling, but not MMA. 

That makes no sense given that MMA combines those two sports as well as a handful of other fighting disciplines including judo and karate.

And that is one thing that Hickey and other detractors seem to forget (or ignore) is that MMA is not a striking-only combat sport. They generally focus solely on the vicious knockouts, knees to the head, power shots and cutting elbows, but fail to acknowledge any aspects of the ground game.

Wrestling and jiu-jitsu are huge components of the sport and usually don't lead to serious injury. This stance was further clarified in a 2006 Journal of Sports and Medicine study, which looked at MMA injuries and concluded that:

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The overall injury rate in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports, including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of TBI in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking.

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Aside from this, another big reason that MMA is not nearly as dangerous as detractors would suggest is because of the great lengths the regulatory bodies go to insure fighter safety prior to, during and after every fight.

Unlike other sports, which praise and even encourage players to soldier on while injured, MMA fighters must pass a pre-fight examination in order to be medically cleared to compete. If they fail this examination, then they aren't allowed to fight.

This very situation recently happened when the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Commission did not clear Alexander Gustafsson to fight only a few days prior to his showdown with Gegard Mousasi at UFC on Fuel TV 9 because of a cut above his left eye that he received while training. 

And while his removal from the fight seriously hurt the quality of the card and sent the UFC brass scrambling to find a late replacement, this was still a good move by the SMMAC. 

Just think of the firestorm that would have erupted had Gustafsson been allowed to fight and the cut got worse or he experienced permanent eye damage. It is always best to err on the side of caution when dealing with someone's physical well-being.

This type of focus on safety is continued in the post-fight evaluation. If the fighters sustained any damage during the bout, then they are given medical suspensions which bar them not only from fighting, but also from sparring or training. These safety measures force the fighters to take the necessary time to heal. Then they are only allowed to return to action after being cleared by a doctor. 

MMA is currently the fastest growing sport in the United States, but it is a relatively young sport that is still going through some growing pains. Most likely there will be further changes to the rules and safety procedures.

Contact sports like boxing and football have been around for more than a century, yet they are still besieged by complaints of being overly aggressive and violent.

And MMA is destined to suffer a similar fate. There will always be detractors, but the UFC's emergence to national prominence guarantees mixed martial arts isn't going anywhere...at least for the time being.