First American MMA death

Still MMA 'related' deaths. And they were what created the slimey reputation MMA enjoyed for years.

UFC, Pride and the likes have cleaned up the sport - a little.

 

Present us with proof of a previous one.

 

I still can't believe that the branding of "MMA" has been so profitable. Of course, the non-politically-correct terms didn't go over as well. Then again, I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that NASCAR has become a multi-billion dollar sport business either.

 

Any death is a sad story.
And, it's pretty predictable that the people who don't like MMA are going to be over-the-top in chastising the sport because of it; and it's equally predictable that MMA followers are going to be equally as over-the-top in their defense.
There've been numerous deaths in the sporting world and there will be more to come. This was bound to happen in MMA. You learn from whatever mistakes were made to help protect the fighters as much as possible and you move on.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Vazquez family. RIP.

 

RE: Hockey deaths.

I know of a junior player who struck his head on the ice during a post-season in which he sustained two previous concussions. He died at the hospital a few hours later. This was 30 years ago so concussions weren't viewed the same as they are today.

Other than that, and the previous North Stars reference, I'm at a loss.

 

I was flipping channels and saw a top ten boxing knockouts and a 10 ten MMA knockouts of 2006 clip.

Boxing was boxing. Guy gets pegged and dropped. Sometimes you will see a 4-5 punch combo and the ref will quickly step in to stop the punches.

What shocked me about MMA was a guy would be out and defensless, but since he was normally on the ground, by the time the ref, who is standing, would get on the ground between them, at least two shots would be landed. It was friggin brutal.

 

Kid in Massachusetts was killed about 12 years ago when a puck hit him in the chest -- pretty much, right by the heart.

 

Same thing happened to a kid in N.H. (Manchester, I think) a handful of years ago, got a puck in the chest at the right moment of the heart beat.

 

Yeah but in boxing if you get knocked out but manage to answer the 10 count you take more punishment.

What's a normal knockdown for a 10 count in boxing is the end of an MMA match. So boxer still take more punishment in the end.

 

Exactly. Talk to the state athletic commissions and they'll tell you studies have shown that there are far less concussions in MMA than in boxing. In MMA, fighters can focus their offense on the arms, legs or go for a choke/submission to force a tap out.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the sport isn't dangerous. It is. But danger is inherent in a lot of sports. It comes with the territory.

 

Um, so fucking what?

 

I'm trying to picture Rex Harrison saying, "So fucking what?"

Here's one of several things I don't get about MMA or ultimate fighting or whatever the fuck you want to call it. I can't stand the sport on its face, but when a bunch of dudes in the newsroom began watching it and making breathless claims it belonged in the sports section, I decided to try and watch it with an open mind.

It wasn't so much the blood sport rituals that bothered me, it was that it is BORING AS FUCK! Every bout looked like a bar fight crossed with high school wrestling, two dudes with tats crawling all over each other throwing an occasional punch.

And somehow, I think Bruce Lee is turning in his grave at inference that it is in any way "martial arts".

It's a dumb ass "sport" followed, not coincidentally, in large part by dumb asses who need some sort of aggression fix to fill some hole in their own lives.