Mixed martial arts (MMA) is probably the bloodiest sport most people will ever witness, but it’s actually less dangerous than boxing, a University of Alberta study has found.
While superficial injuries are more prevalent in MMA—including cuts which make for the gory scenes associated with the sport—severe injuries such as broken bones, head trauma, unconsciousness, and eye problems are found more commonly in boxing.
“Yes, you’re more likely to get injured if you’re participating in mixed martial arts, but the injury severity is less overall than boxing,” explained lead author Shelby Karpman, a sports medicine physician at the U of A Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic.
“Most of the blood you see in mixed martial arts is from bloody noses or facial cuts; it doesn’t tend to be as severe but looks a lot worse than it actually is.”
Karpman was a ringside physician for a quarter of a century, and conducted the post-fight exams that are mandatory in both mixed martial arts and boxing matches. With U of A Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine colleagues, he reviewed post-fight records of 1,181 MMA fighters and 550 boxers who fought matches in Edmonton between 2003 and 2013.
The team found that 59.4 percent of MMA fighters suffered some form of injury during their bouts, which was higher than the 49.8 percent for boxers. However, most of these injuries were bruises and contusions, while boxers were more likely to experience loss of consciousness—7.1 percent compared with 4.2 percent for MMA fighters—or serious eye injuries.
Boxers were also significantly more likely to receive medical suspensions due to injuries suffered during bouts.
Most injuries happen during training
A majority of the more serious injuries that MMA fighters do suffer happen while training, according to a 14-year veteran. “There are definitely risks. I’ve been pretty messed up,” said Victor Valimaki, who has suffered an astonishing number of different broken bones.
However, he added: “Most injuries happen during training. Injuries during an actual fight are superficial – typically black eyes, cuts and the odd broken hand.”
Despite the apparently reduced risk compared with boxing, Karpman explains that MMA faces a stigma from certain elements within the medical community who see the sport as super-bloody and violent. He believes that MMA fighters have become “an undertreated athletic population.”
“These guys do not get the respect they deserve for what they’re doing – or the medical treatment – because the medical community doesn’t want to deal with such a bloody sport with head injuries and concussions,” Karpman said.
He makes a comparison with hockey, in which catastrophic blows to the head have led former NHL players like Scott Stevens and Chris Pronger into the hall of fame, while MMA and boxing face frequent calls to be banned. Abandoning the sports, he suggests, is not the answer.
“I always say if you’re going to ban a sport, you need statistics. Just watching mixed martial arts twice on TV does not cut it. And even if you ban a sport, you’re not going to stop it. You’re just going to take it underground where they’re not going to receive medical care,” he concluded.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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