Jordan Parson, fighter killed in hit and run, had CTE

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I know he was a Bellator fighter but this is very relevant to the entire sport.

Will this lead to anything or was he not too high profile enough to make a difference?

Since he died in a hit and run we never saw how CTE would have affected him 5, 10, 15 years from now.

But what if someone like Chuck outwardly does crazy shit because of CTE?

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/10/...he-first-mma-fighter-to-be-diagnosed-with-cte
 
Sad news. Even sadder to say he won't be the last. I hope that as more is learned about the brain and CTE we can learn more about what causes it and it's effects. In light of the news maybe other fighters will decide to donate their brains to science like is happening in football.
 
Cant blame the sport...the training habits have to be the one in question.
 
First of all his death was terrible, glad they caught the scumbag who tried to hit and run.

And it should be clear to anyone that people who compete in MMA/Boxing are going to have CTE or at least some sort of brain damage. They are getting hit in the head every day in practice let alone the fights.

There are current and former fighters that are sad to hear talk because they've obviously lost a step or three. UFC is gonna have to pony up some hefty retirement benefits soon I'm sure seeing how the NFL is going in comparison.

But hey, you're competing in a sport where the object is to rock your opponent's brain inside his skull so hard it puts his lights out, fighters know what they're getting into.
 
Some scary news man. That shit is an epidemic of debates in both the NHL, and NFL atm. Being diagnosed that young is a huge eye opener with only 13 pro fights to his name.
 
Head injuries from the crash would have also contributed to that as well.
 
Its pretty obvious if you are in the fight biz you will have brain damage of some sort by the time you retire. It shouldn't be news
 
Head injuries from the crash would have also contributed to that as well.

Little to none. CTE is a degenerative disease that progresses over time. If it was present during the autopsy or post-mortem analysis... the accident would've had no bearing on it.
 
many hockey enforcers die young...

don't be surprised when we start to see this happen in MMA
 
Every fighter has CTE. You choose to go into combat sports then you should expect it. There should be ZERO accountability on any fight promotion.

Also the effects of CTE are over dramatized to get a pay out for victims.
 
could we see concussion protocols in mma in the future? wouldnt surprise me if they did at some point- like when the doctors check eyes from pokes, are they going to be looking for symptoms (dialated pupils, confusion etc.) that are concussion related-
 
Not surprised at all, I would imagine a large majority on MMA and boxers have CTE, getting hit in the head often is awful for the brain as we know. A lot of these fighters are gonna have many many problems later in life, especially after 60
 
The human brain is designed to take punishment. That's why we have thick skulls, brain fluid and the conscious-shut-off functionality in the brain. I'm no expert, but I doubt getting KO'd by fists and feet half a dozen times over a decade is going to lead to noticeable brain damage.

IMO it's the training. People get concussions all the time without really noticing it. When I first concentrated on boxing after a few years of MMA training, I was used to that white 'flash'. People who've sparred hard know what I'm talking about. It's that fraction of a second you lose in time, you get a bright light flash, and you need even just a second or two to get your bearings back and you're fine, sometimes a bit light on your feet and moving like you're in space. No after effects - no headache, no memory problems, nothing - but that's actually a minor concussion. I just thought that was part of getting hit.

I also went right back into the next round. Sparred the next day, then the day after that. That's what does the damage. If you're put out cold, your barred from contact for 3 months or so to let the brain heal. It's the progressive small concussions that are likely fucking people up, which is why CTE is so prevalent with football players (who may get concussed once or twice a game and compete every week).

Train smart, fight hard, and know when to call it a career.
 
The human brain is designed to take punishment. That's why we have thick skulls, brain fluid and the conscious-shut-off functionality in the brain. I'm no expert, but I doubt getting KO'd by fists and feet half a dozen times over a decade is going to lead to noticeable brain damage.

IMO it's the training. People get concussions all the time without really noticing it. When I first concentrated on boxing after a few years of MMA training, I was used to that white 'flash'. People who've sparred hard know what I'm talking about. It's that fraction of a second you lose in time, you get a bright light flash, and you need even just a second or two to get your bearings back and you're fine, sometimes a bit light on your feet and moving like you're in space. No after effects - no headache, no memory problems, nothing - but that's actually a minor concussion. I just thought that was part of getting hit.

I also went right back into the next round. Sparred the next day, then the day after that. That's what does the damage. If you're put out cold, your barred from contact for 3 months or so to let the brain heal. It's the progressive small concussions that are likely fucking people up, which is why CTE is so prevalent with football players (who may get concussed once or twice a game and compete every week).

Train smart, fight hard, and know when to call it a career.
Exactly this. You must give your brain proper time to heal from injury or end up giving yourself irreversible damage to your brain. I think the reason why it was so common among NFL players is because they're constantly hitting each other head to head. But it's also in combat sports. It's just the nature of the beast. Shit it's in prowrestling
 
it's no big deal

how come the japanese don't get it?

it's mostly cultural imo and has to do with drug addiction and lack of quality reading time

half the people in USA are brain damaged
 
The human brain is designed to take punishment. That's why we have thick skulls, brain fluid and the conscious-shut-off functionality in the brain. I'm no expert, but I doubt getting KO'd by fists and feet half a dozen times over a decade is going to lead to noticeable brain damage.

IMO it's the training. People get concussions all the time without really noticing it. When I first concentrated on boxing after a few years of MMA training, I was used to that white 'flash'. People who've sparred hard know what I'm talking about. It's that fraction of a second you lose in time, you get a bright light flash, and you need even just a second or two to get your bearings back and you're fine, sometimes a bit light on your feet and moving like you're in space. No after effects - no headache, no memory problems, nothing - but that's actually a minor concussion. I just thought that was part of getting hit.

I also went right back into the next round. Sparred the next day, then the day after that. That's what does the damage. If you're put out cold, your barred from contact for 3 months or so to let the brain heal. It's the progressive small concussions that are likely fucking people up, which is why CTE is so prevalent with football players (who may get concussed once or twice a game and compete every week).

Train smart, fight hard, and know when to call it a career.
You got it.

1 fight every 3-4 months is ample time for your brain to recover. It's the continual sparring in the middle of that time period, that also happens to not be monitored at all, that will really fuck your brain up.

I don't consider CTE a big deal, as long the athletes are warned (in the future) that they are participating in a sport that will give them brain damage... Which they should already know anyway. The UFC should just add it in the contracts to cover their asses.
 
You got it.

1 fight every 3-4 months is ample time for your brain to recover. It's the continual sparring in the middle of that time period, that also happens to not be monitored at all, that will really fuck your brain up.

I don't consider CTE a big deal, as long the athletes are warned (in the future) that they are participating in a sport that will give them brain damage... Which they should already know anyway. The UFC should just add it in the contracts to cover their asses.
Exactly. It's like a heavily bruised foot - I'd catch a knee in throwing an inside leg kick and I could barely walk on it. You know what I did? Stopped kicking with it, because feet bones take forever to heel. The same with a shoulder or knee injury. When you tear a ligament - you don't hit the mat the next day and 'work through it'.

Just like binge drinking once a month will not kill your liver, moderate drinking every day will. Your brain is just tissue like the rest of your body and it needs time to heal between injuries. The only problem is that you don't 'feel' the effects of a minor/moderate concussion (damage) until you're already partway into some serious long term damage.

The contract thing is a good point too. You'd have to be an idiot not to realise you're putting long term brain health on the line when jumping into this sport professionally, so pointing it out in a contract and signing away liability is a good way of highlighting that.
 
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