Dana White On Concussions: "The UFC Is Safer Than The NFL"

Who monitors these guys training for fights, I have seen multiple concussions weeks or days before UFC fights. No fight, no pay.....
 
He minds well say its safer then the NBA too. Get a concussion you'll be back to playing in a week. Dana White just says stupid crap that only stupid ppl will agree with.
 
It is impossible to know until there are brain studies done on deceased MMA fighters. However, the fact that NFL players can get a concussion and play next week while MMA fighters get a concussion and have no contact for 30 days makes MMA look safer in that regard.

I read a report a couple weeks ago where 34 ex-football players had their brains scanned and 33 of them had CTE. Many were offensive and defensive linemen who never suffer big hits but constant small hits. Some of these players never played football beyond high school even.

i dont know if your numbers are dead on, but basically you are right. congress had a bunch of brain specialists on last year.

kids in highschool, without having taken any serious hits, had shown signs of brain trauma.

you will read about football related concussions because football has millions more playing it. but i feel pretty confident down the road you will learn about all sorts of long term damage done to the mma guys.

boxers are stuttering all over the place, but the mma dudes we have seen rocked hardcore time after time are going to be fine?

expect lawsuits and then expect the rules to alter accordingly.
right now thousands of former nfl players have lawsuits in the works.

im guessing this is why the kickoff rules changed this last season and i think they are about to change again this season.

im sure mma will change down the road.
 
You're cutting the argument off at the pass.

That was 2005 when they made a preliminary claim of no link. Since then, as more research has been done, everyone has become more aware of the risks of long term damage from concussions, and even repeated non-concussive blows to the head.

They paid millions of dollars for research from 1994 to 2009, and all of the evidence claimed that there was no link. They were paying for disability for football related brain damage while also claiming that football couldn't possibly cause brain damage.
 
Who monitors these guys training for fights, I have seen multiple concussions weeks or days before UFC fights. No fight, no pay.....

This is a good point. Fighters could suffer countless concussions in training camp leading up to a fight, and still be cleared.
 
"Safest sport in the world."

That may be my new favourite quote from DW, it's right up there with "Globally, soccer and the UFC are neck and neck."
 
NFL players get injured? But all the internet rugby fans tell me American football players are pussies because they wear pads, and that rugby is so much tougher on the body...

Anyway, it seems that Dana is acknowledging that MMA is dangerous, but saying it's less dangerous than football. That remains to be seen. It doesn't seem improbable that he's correct, since guys in the NFL get bashed really badly over and over again, where in the UFC at least fights are (supposed to be) stopped once you get KO'ed/TKO'ed. Of course, MMA fighters are sparring which is likely doing damage as well, but NFL guys have practices too, and play a lot of games throughout the season. Needs to be researched, but Dana's point isn't completely inane.
 
"its the safest sport in the world"

really? funny, i've never seen anyone shatter their orbitals while playing golf
 
Well, he's got a point. After every MMA event about 90% of the roster is medically suspended. You complain your piggy toe hurts after a fight and the AC will suspend you indefinitely until you have it checked out.

It's also no secret that football and concussions has been a major issue and studies have showed NFL players have had a much higher risk of Alzheimers, ALS, Parkisons etc...

I'd say it isn't that big of an assumption to say MMA may be safer, or takes better precautions. I'd like a little more than 20 years of data though.
 
so waht? also, i enjoy how you just say stuff like that with no evidence - dana white is talking to people at your level of intelligence

From my experience, everyone that I've met who has complained about the brutality of MMA is a huge football fan. It's hypocritical, and it's unfair.
 
You're cutting the argument off at the pass.

That was 2005 when they made a preliminary claim of no link. Since then, as more research has been done, everyone has become more aware of the risks of long term damage from concussions, and even repeated non-concussive blows to the head.

yea, its a slow process - of course the nfl doesnt have the players health in mind - they care about money and growing profits, and these things get in the way

but public awareness gets bigger, other people besides the nfl conducts tests independentaly and awareness continues to grow - you cant expect those who make money off of the player s/ fighters to want to care for them, but the public outcry will make changes

its similar to how anything changes slowly - those who are profiting and making money off of something are slowly pushed back by more public attention and evidence

its a slow process - passage of time is key
 
He's right.. Guys in the NFL are dropping likes flies..
 
exactly - enough said - you have a feeling based on no evidence and you take it as fact

The majority of Americans are big football fans. The majority of Americans believe that MMA is more brutal than football. I may not have proof, but it's true that MMA has a rep for being a more dangerous sport, but people are fine with watching good old fashioned American football.
 
It's safer than the NFL in the way motorcycle racing is safer than going to Iraq.
 
From my experience, everyone that I've met who has complained about the brutality of MMA is a huge football fan. It's hypocritical, and it's unfair.

That is what's called "anecdotal evidence."

Generally considered useless.

That's like someone in West Texas saying "I don't know how Obama got elected, I've never met anyone who voted for him." (or someone on New York's Upper East Side saying "I don't know how Bush got elected...")
 
So he actually has no scientific evidence to back up this fact?

Also, the NFL has spent tens of millions on concussion research for its players. The UFC has done what?

lol. safest sport in the world!

All that research the NFL is investing in is fairly recent. Pro football has been around for about a century and for those who grew up watching it and played football you know how hard a sport it is. Look at Mike Webster who's celebrated as one of the greatest centers of all time and the autopsy on his brain was frightening. Yes, the NFL is doing research now over player health (mainly due to bad PR outside the field) but it could have done something decades earlier.
 
safest sport well I don't know about that... lol
but it's sure safer than nfl and a whole lot of other contact combat sports (boxing) so yeah ppl are making mma look worse than it actualy is. but nevertheless it's a full contact combat sport and surely isn't healthy... apart from the fitness aspect
 
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