Do you think that boxing will cause more damage to the brain than being in mma?

Question

I think that the long rounds and constant pounding of the head will cause more damage than some one in the UFC(just an example of many MMA org's-just thought i would say that to keep everyone happy!)

MMA have shorter rounds and is Mixed so your not pounding the head all the time, so why is the media saying that it is so violent and not allowed to be an olympic sport when it is safer than boxing???

Answer 1

Yes. There are some goods answers to this question. Im just in agreement them. Boxing is more damaging to the brain.

Answer 2

I think the experts and the verdict are still out on that actually. Boxing has been around for years and there have been medical studies done on its affects on fighters. MMA is a lot newer and they are taking fewer head shots and it has no standing eight count for a fighter to recover and then start fighting again and receive more damage like there is in boxing. However some medical experts say that even a few blows, of any kind can cause some damage, especially to younger people.

MMA is more violent in that it allows more in the way of offense allowing fighters to wrestle, choke, submit, strike, kick, and punch. To the untrained who don't care much for boxing it probably looks barbaric-especially since it is in a cage like animals may be kept in. Those people don't realize the cage keeps the fighters from falling through ropes, or out of the ring, and is for the fighters safety.

Choking is another aspect. Most states recognize and have sanctioned AAU Judo for years and did not realize that in the adult black-belt levels there were wins by chokes or that it was allowed. With the advent of MMA they are aware of it now and that is one of the reasons why MMA fighting has become legal in many states. Several years ago it was quite a surprise for them to find out that they were attempting to block something that allowed win by choke but yet had AAU sanctioned Judo events taking place for years prior to that.

So to the untrained, uneducated, or ones that don't care for anything more physical than eighteen holes of golf I can see why they would take that approach and draw the line faster than a person like you or me might. The head shot thing I think we can debate for years and still not really know the answer on that totally. In the mean time I am going to enjoy watching it along with boxing, football, and a few other sports that I like and can also appreciate the various aspects of.

Answer 3

Boxing gets the same attacks from the media , and has done for the last 100 years.Just that is has been around a lot longer and much more money in it so it can beat the media better the MMA can yet.

As to safety boxing of course causes a lot more head impact.

And what most people don't realise is its not the fight which does the damage.

Its the 50-100 heavy sparring sessions you do leading up to a single fight that you get the most punishment.

MMA spars the same but 50% of their sessions will be pure wrestling and submissions, no punches even thrown at all during them.

As to general safety there is no 'real difference', its just governments trying to stop people pursuing any new "undesirable pastimes". Same as gun laws.

Answer 4

first of all the phil k guy talking about how boxing and mma shouldn't be in our culture is an igmo who needs to get some balls.....

secondly to answer teh question ...yes boxing causes death and much more damage b/c u take repeated blows to the head and even when u are practically incapacitated u still have to fight

mma u get knocked out fast or if u aren't intelligently defended yourself (getting yo *** whipped) than the ref breaks it up before any real damage occurs

in my opinion mma is not only safer, more interesting, but a lot cooler because of the diverse attacks u can use...striking, submissions, wrestling
than boxing is...the fact that the UFC pay per view outsold boxing and wrestling last year is evidence

Answer 5

i think so but of course im no doctor. boxing is constant blows to the head while mma things get mixed up. plus most mma fighters are good at striking dont get me wrong but boxers would tend to have more power in striking(hands). also not too many fights in mma end in a cold knockout and thus far the refs seem pretty good on average at stopping fights.

however those little gloves in mma dang those would hurt. think if roy jones were to hit you with those instead of regular boxing gloves

mma is portrayed as being super violent (from vale tudo, underground kumites, fight clubs) so when the general public sees in movies and stuff people getting killed and seriously injured they relate it to mma. plus mma would look like a bloodsport/street fight to an outsider(small gloves, punching people on the ground, etc..) plus people are still getting over back in the day when ufc had almost no rules(no gloves, weight classes, etc..)

even when "mma" was in the olympics as pankration fights to the death werent uncommon(of course this was a LONG time ago) but all these elments leave a bad stigma on mma

Answer 6

Its proven that boxing is more dangerous than MMA all it takes in mma is one or 2 strikes to end a fight but in boxing you need to hit the guy hundreds of times before the fight is ended.There has been 1 death in mma with no serious injuries.The guy who was killed in mma was hit really hard in the neck with an illegal strike in a no holds bared fight in russia i think it was.Many people have died as a result of being hit too many times in boxing and there have been allot of serious injuries and brain damage in boxing.

Answer 7

It is commonly said that MMA is safer than boxing. The statistics would tend to bear that out, given the number of deaths and serious brain injuries caused by boxing each year, and the absence of such injuries in MMA. It should be remembered, however, that the long term effects of MMA are not well known yet, as the popularity of the sport is relatively new.

That said, there are reasons, other than the stats, to believe that MMA is safer, specifically in relation to brain injury. First off, there is boxing's standing eight count. It allows a boxer who has been rocked just enough time to continue, then be rocked again and again. This can lead to serious brain trauma. Next, the referee's in MMA are much quicker to stop a fight than in boxing. In addition to that, as someone else mentioned, it is honorable to tap out in MMA, so -- as compared to boxing -- a fighter is much more likely to quit when injured.

Between the statistics and these factors, I think it is fair to say that an MMA figher is less likely to suffer serious brain injury than a boxer.

Okay, that answered your question, but I think it is important to also note, before saying MMA is 'safer' than boxing, that other types of injuries are much more common in MMA than in boxing. Blown tendons, dislocated joints, and broken bones are much more commonplace in MMA than in boxing. cuts tend to be worse as well (due to the smaller gloves).. What will the long term effects of these types of injuries be? Only time will tell.

Lastly, one person above stated that he didn't think the either boxing or MMA should be allowed. He compared MMA to gladiatorial games. Supporters of MMA (and combat sports in general) should not respond by attacking such people, but by informing them. Many people hold similar attitudes, and it is only when the general public begins to recognize that we are athletes, not thugs, that our sport will reach the same level of acceptance as football, basketball, etc.

Answer 8

Although boxing by its nature causes more repeated blows of a similar type to the head and torso, I feel it's much more controlled than the likes of UFC where the laws are far more lax. A knee to the head WILL do more damage than a gloved fist, for example.

However, I think there's nothing grand about boxing or UFC at all. It's a mark of shame on our society that the sports (UFC more so han boxing) are allowed, encouraged and often glorified. It's shocking to see that in our supposedly civilised society we still have what is little more than gladiatorial exhibitions. Martial Arts have an element of grace and dignity about them- it's not about smacking your oppenent around until they collapse, it's about focused controlled defence. I know many UFC contenders have martial arts training, but the very essence and point of the art is lost the moment they step into a ring to take part in a UFC match. It's neither sport nor art and shouldn't have a place in our culture.

Edit:

Ryan: yeah, it's 'cooler'; that's what sports and martial arts are all about, isn't it mate? Don't be such a fool.

I think you've proven my point quite nicely with your immature comments. I've got balls, don't you worry- I just think we should have respect and tolerance of GENUINE martial arts and contact sports. MMA are neither of these.

Answer 9

It is much safer than boxing. No deaths in any sanctioned mma event yet and there have been plenty in boxing. Chuck Liddell said it best. He indicated that boxers take more direct blows to the head in one fight than he will take in his whole career. In MMA there are so many ways to defend yourself. Boxing it is not honorable to give up. It is pefectly acceptable to get out of an MMA fight if you can not defend yourself. If you get knocked down in MMA the fight is basically over but in Boxing they let you get knocked down several times..

Answer 10

Yes, the brain damage happons after a guy gets KOed then gets back up then gets KOed again and gets up again and so on

Also allot of fights are won by submission thats a bit healthyer for the brain, but the main thing that will save your noggin is that after you go down the fight is usually stoped right away if you become "out of it" but in boxing there is a ten count right, so you can be out of it but keep getting up when really you shouldn't