Injury statistics in UFC tournaments

http://www.jssm.org/combat/1/18/v5combat-18.pdf

I came across this interesting article.
The data shows that injury rates tend to climb alongside both the age of the fighters and their weight class.
Facial lacerations seem to be the most frequent type of injury reported.
In fact, 40.3% of all fights ended with some form of injury occurring.

Since I know there have been debates regarding safety in the UFC (comparing it to boxing, if I recall correctly), I thought this study might interest some of you.
It feels like a great starting point for a discussion.

If those were just cuts... man, Strada would’ve absolutely laid them out. He’d have beaten them from head to toe. Especially the head, seriously.

There really isn't any need for us to go back and forth on this if we simply categorize our discussion into two distinct areas:
—injuries sustained during general training for UFC
.

It should be common knowledge by now that injuries are an inevitable part of the game, and honestly, it’s nearly impossible to walk away from a UFC fight without picking up a few marks, but most of those are just standard stuff you see in any combat sport, like bruises or minor cuts.
When it comes to the training side of things—which is the part I find most fascinating regarding recreational enthusiasts—injuries are actually quite rare; they certainly do happen, but they aren't occurring at a higher rate than what you'd expect in almost any other athletic pursuit.

feralviper72 said:It’s not just cuts, though... they take a beating over their entire bodies. Especially the head.

To be fair, boxers definitely take more damage to the head.

feralviper72 said:As if those cuts were the only issue... Strada basically used their entire body as a blunt instrument on them. Especially the head. Just total carnage.

Here is one actually making sense.

feralviper72 said:It’s not just cuts, though... they take hits to their entire bodies. Especially the head.

Well, I see you've got some pretty stellar arguments there.
I mean, people take physical damage in every single sport, truly every one. So, what's the actual point you're trying to make here?

The head? Honestly, the head takes way less damage in this than it does in boxing...

mistycrane14 said:http://www.jssm.org/combat/1/18/v5combat-18.pdf

I stumbled upon an interesting article.
The injury rate climbs alongside both the age of the fighters and their weight class.
Facial lacerations are the most frequent type of injury reported.
About 40.3% of all fights resulted in some kind of injury.

I know there have been debates regarding safety in the UFC (comparing it to boxing safety, if I recall correctly), so this paper might interest someone.
It seems like a solid conversation starter too.

Look, it’s usually just people who don't follow combat sports or martial arts who think there are more injuries here than in other sports.

I remember a buddy from high school who played competitive junior league handball. He didn't even need to bring in a doctor's note for PE class; the teacher would basically just tell him to go home and rest.

Most of the time, he looked like a boxer right after a brutal MMA fight.

placidbison20 said:Look, I think it’s only people who aren't involved in combat sports or martial arts who believe there are more injuries here than in any other sport.

I remember a friend from high school who played competitive handball in a junior league. He never even needed a doctor's note for PE class; his coach would just tell him to head home and rest.

The guy basically looked like a boxer right after a brutal MMA fight.

There are tons of examples like that.
I know plenty of guys training soccer, handball, or basketball...
and they're dealing with injuries constantly, often severe ones.
In my school, one kid actually died playing soccer.
And you see people dying during marathons every single year.
Of course, I'm not saying UFC tournaments are perfectly safe, but I don't think it's the danger nightmare the media tries to make it out to be.

To be honest, though, a broken nose is what I find most revolting.

mistycrane14 said:There are tons of examples like that.
I know plenty of people who play football, handball, basketball...
And they deal with injuries all the time, often pretty severe ones.
One guy from my high school actually died playing football.
You see guys dropping dead during marathons every single year.
Look, I'm not saying UFC isn't dangerous, but I don't think it's the nightmare the media tries to make it out to be.

And honestly, a broken nose is what really grosses me out.

Personally, I'm just worried about my eyes—like maybe some contact lens might get forced into my eye from a hit. Everything else...

placidbison20 said:Personally, my biggest concern is just protecting my eyes—I'd hate for some stray strike to cause an injury. Everything else is manageable...

That sounds awful.
That’s why I never wear glasses during any kind of physical activity.
Even though my vision is pretty bad.

That’s why you should stick to soft contact lenses; they make everything so much easier.