March - 2016
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
16
The EFC Africa president Cairo Howarth, said
that after he heard of Guylain’s passing, it was a
huge loss for the sport and everyone who knew
him. His thoughts and prayers are with the fam-
ily. With the tragic death of Guylain, it dispels
any potential notions that said the MMA was a
safe sport. While it is still in its infant stages, we
have to make concessions if we hope to bring
the sport to a more mainstream audience. That
key might lie in the banning of elbow strikes
to the head with grounded opponents because
elbow blows will often create a lot of blood
from minor damage, which can alienate many
people to the sport. The problem with an elbow
strike in this position is that it can be difficult
to defend against, and you do not need much
momentum to cause brain damage. We want
to take steps to reduce the potential for head
trauma because it can often prove fatal.
According to the University of Toronto, research-
ers looked at the scorecards from the last seven
years, and they learned that brain damage will
often take place after repeated or surprise head
strikes after a fighter is knocked out cold. There
are about 6.4 knockouts for every 100 fights,
which is compared to 4.9 concussions in box-
ing, 2.2 concussions in hockey and 8.08 con-
cussions in football for every 100 games.
Aside from elbow strikes putting fighters at
a greater risk of injury, we cannot forget the
preparation that goes into these fights. For ex-
ample, most fighters will log endless hours at
the gym when preparing, and they will spend a
lot of time training. No one wants to put that
much time into training only to walk away be-
cause of a cheap shot. In addition, the fans pay
good money to see these fights.
When fighters are allowed to elbow jab ground-
ed opponents, it makes the betting odds pre-
dictions more foreseeable and less exciting. No
one wants to see a fight ended in the first round
because of a cut. While MMA does consider a
cut stoppage as a finish, it does not produce
a winner who is deserving of the title. It could
be compared to draws or winning because of a
freak accident. In fact, according to Black Belt
Magazine, there is an 80 percent chance of a
knockout with a strike to head. What makes
the elbowing a particularly cheap shot is that
you take a guy and ram him into a fence, which
is going to limit his mobility. In some ways,
this gives him limited ability to defend himself
from elbow strikes, and that is why it should be
banned from MMA.
While concussions have become a hot topic
in hockey and football, they have not been as
widely spoken of in the MMA. The former UFC
light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Sho-
gun” Rua learned many controversial tech-
niques during his three-year stay in Japan’s
Pride Fighting Championships. He says that the
elbow blows to the head are more dangerous
than the soccer kicks and the foot stomps that
they accepted in Pride because they hurt more
than the stomps. In multiple interviews, the re-
tired UFC welterweight Nick Diaz mirrored the
feelings of Shogun about elbows in fighting. In
addition to Nick and Shogun, Nate Diaz, Nick’s
brother, called the use of elbows a classless
fighting method, and he said that under the
current system, fighters are literally gambling
with their lives.
MMA a Safe Sport?
Hours and Hours of
Preparation
Concussions Not As
Spoken of in the MMA
