Mixed martial arts is a total contact sport. Sometimes it can be bloody and fighters suffer injuries both during training and during combat. MMA is almost as dangerous as any other all-contact sport. As in sports such as hockey and American football, MMA athletes are prone to a wide variety of injuries, ranging from minor sprains to brain injuries, such as concussions.
As with other sports, not all athletes will suffer a serious injury. Precautions must be taken to avoid injury and every athlete must consider their safety as a priority. Below we'll detail some of the injuries that may be associated with MMA and other total contact sports. We believe that MMA isn't necessarily dangerous and that you can learn and compete safely.
However, knowledge of potential injuries and knowledge of preventive measures are also important. When it comes to minor injuries, MMA is more dangerous than boxing and kickboxing. The gloves are smaller than in boxing, so hand injuries are extremely common. Practically every joint in the body is at risk both during training and during competition.
Mixed martial arts is reputed to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal contact sports of all contact sports, but the reality is that boxing presents a greater risk of serious injury, according to new research from the University of Alberta. This same situation occurred recently when the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Commission did not authorize Alexander Gustafsson to fight just a few days before his confrontation with Gegard Mousasi at UFC on Fuel TV 9 due to a cut in his left eye he received while training. You can mix the joys of the extended, sweaty skin-to-skin contact that comes with wrestling and struggling without GI and the physical cost of getting punched and kicked. Although professional MMA fights can be dangerous, most recreational athletes should be able to participate in MMA without worrying too much about injuries.
Many critics say that mixed martial arts are barbaric and dreadful and are nothing more than amateur street fights. The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board established the Unified Mixed Martial Arts Rules that declared many of the most devastating blows illegal, such as kicking a downed opponent in the head. Researchers at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of California reviewed data from a decade of medical tests performed after mixed martial arts and boxing matches and found that MMA fighters are at a slightly higher risk of suffering minor injuries. The research offers a unique view of the dangers of the two combat sports in Canada, and is the direct result of a quarter of a century of Karpman's experience as a first-rate physician performing post-fight exams, which are mandatory in both sports.
There will always be detractors, but the UFC's rise to national fame ensures that mixed martial arts aren't going anywhere.
