3 ms·

No one has died fighting in the UFC, although it has happened (only 4 times to date in the US) in other organizations[0]. I'm sure one day it will happen in the

No one has died fighting in the UFC, although it has happened (only 4 times to date in the US) in other organizations[0]. I'm sure one day it will happen in the UFC and there will be a lot of hand-wringing, but the injury rate is comparable to any high-impact sport like boxing or football. The risk of head injury might even be less than boxing because there's no standing 8 count and there are more ways to win without the head being attacked. Referees are generally very well-trained and the overriding imperative is fighter safety. Not to whitewash or anything; it's a bloody and violent sport to be sure. But I think that it's much more civilized than non-fans tend to realize. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatalities_in_mixed_martial_arts_contests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatalities_in_mixed_martial_ar...

forgetsusername 10y ago
>Referees are generally very well-trained and the overriding imperative is fighter safety. I don't know if I'd agree with either of these statements, as we saw this weekend. First, UFC events seem inundated with horrible stoppages. Early stoppages are annoying, but at least they're safe. Late stoppages still abound, though. Lauzon vs Sanchez was a good example of this. But these guys were put on the card to smash, so the ref made sure the fans got their money worth. We got to watch Sanchez stumble around on his feet in a daze. For the second, the referees seem to be most concerned about the entertainment of the fans, first and foremost. Forcing Cormier and Silva into a stand-up on multiple occasions Saturday night is an example here. The refs are more than happy to force people to go toe-to-toe.