Issue 149
December 2016
Money troubles in MMA often mean fighters can’t be trusted to compete safely.
Gareth A Davies, MMA correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, London, UK, has concerns about fight safety.
I heard a worrying story behind the scenes, recently. It set alarm bells ringing. A team member who looks after the health and well-being of one UFC fighter discovered issues with their breathing.
The fighter, who will remain nameless, insisted he was fine and he’d fight in a few weeks.
But the health practitioner was unhappy and demanded the fighter have an x-ray. The fighter complied.
They discovered was a punctured lung sustained during grappling in training camp. Still, the fighter was adamant the fight would go ahead. It was at that point sense prevailed, and the health adviser sent the x-ray to the UFC.
The fighter was obviously withdrawn. The bigger picture was the fighter wanted to go ahead because they needed the money. He had bills to pay.
On another occasion, one UFC fighter told me they had metal stitches in their head from a gash just under the hairline from a cut they’d suffered in training.
They had covered it with their hair by gelling the parting over it.
If doctors had seen it, they wouldn’t have been allowed to fight. But they couldn’t afford to withdraw.
There was wailing when Joe Duffy was pulled from a main event in Dublin in last year after he suffered a concussion in sparring in fight week.
Absolutely right. The UFC and his team are to be applauded for that transparency.
It has to be there because the first duty must be the safety of the fighter in what is an inherently dangerous occupation. Thus far, in its short life as a sport, MMA – and the UFC in particular – has a quite incredible safety record. We know many fighters carry injuries into contests, but as we move forward, ‘self-policing’ is going to be more and more vital.
Readers will recall Ronda Rousey’s story of how she fought her first professional fight in 2011 with – I quote from her autobiography – “a hole in the arch of her foot” after she had been bitten by Porkchop, a 60lb pit bull.
Rousey details how she avoided detection during the weigh-in and didn’t disclose it to the doctor. A minor example, perhaps, but it just serves to exemplify that fighters are exactly that: fighters.
They have extraordinary powers in overcoming physical pain, driving themselves to extraordinary lengths in the pursuit of their calling.
It is often why we admire them. But we have to admire those working behind the scenes. Because sometimes fighters need protecting – from themselves. I reckon these stories are the tip of the iceberg.
TIME FOR CYBORG
Isn’t it time the UFC bit the bullet and opened up a women’s 145lb division? We know Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino is attempting to boil down to 135lb and is a dominant force at featherweight.
The news that Rousey’s return from self-exile will be a scrap for the UFC strap against Amanda Nunes leaves Cyborg in her own kind of limbo.
Little wonder it brought a rant from the belligerent Brazilian.
Just as Rousey opened up a new dimension in women’s MMA in the UFC with her star qualities, so Cyborg could herald an explosion in the division above. She has already smashed Lina Lansberg and Leslie Smith at 140lb, and is unbeaten since her debut in 2005.
If the UFC makes the leap, we would have a ready-made target for other 145lb’ers. Then, if Rousey reclaims the crown, we could have an inter-divisional super-fight. Or even at 140. Now that would sell. A no-brainer for me.
88% KNOCKOUTS
Cris Cyborg is the most destructive female fighter in MMA, with 15 knockouts in 17 career wins.
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