Stop saying "___ fight took years off his life"

[Natural Order]

Think of the amount of trauma one endures throughout their entire life. Everything they do in their youth, teen years, all sports they play, anything that takes a physical toll on their body.

You really think a couple bad fights is going to take years off the lifespan?

You think your average person sustains cumulative head trauma equivalent to what Junior Dos Santos did against Cain Velasquez?

Pro Tip: You're on crack.

All of the data coming in from medical research on health effects related to head trauma says you're wrong. Try doing some reading instead of firing off the first thought that pops into your head.

 

[Natural Order]

Bisping lost an eye and it seems a knee from fighting and he is around 40, its safe to say fighting shortens life, or even if they dont actually lose years of life, they lose on quality for those latter years, imo.

At the very minimum, most will experience a reduced quality of life in their later years. It remains to be seen how severe things can get because MMA is a relatively young sport with only a handful pushing their 60's.

 

[Drain Bamage]

Those wars with Hendo, took years off Shoguns life.

I just don't believe it bro.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Ha, I know but it got me curious and turns out it's not uncommon at all that they lived a very normal lifespan. Jack Dempsey was nearly 90, Sugar Ray Robinson nearly 80, George Foreman and Larry Holmes are already 70 and seem to be doing well.

I'm not suggesting there aren't also many horror cases, but like TS said it's not as stark and many make it out to be.

 

[gunlok]

Then please explain to ,e why in boxing and MMA not everybody retires in 65 with at least 1600 pro fights? Cause if fights don't even affect you, why not just fight every week and earn millions of dollars?

 

[ufcfan4]

Wolverine is a fictional character.

You don't fully recover from damage. It takes a toll on their bodies.

Great call.

TS seems to just take umbrage with the phrase. If you don't like the phrase, that's one thing- it's impossible to know if a fight literally "takes years off someone's life," but independent of that, the types of fights that phrase is applied to often involve damage that could conceivably do irreparable harm to their career (for example fighters who are never the same after a certain bout) and perhaps even their lives.

Also, I know that the original X-Men film touched on this, but MMA would have been a great career path for Wolverine if he didn't join the X-Men.

 

[XNYHCX]

Stress takes years off your life.

That said, okay. I'll do what you asked.

Not sure I ever said it, but...

 

[Shaddows]

The kind of damage you get from a UFC fight does not take years off your life. Junior Dos Santos did not lose years of his life in the Cain Velasquez fights. Rory Macdonald and Robbie Lawler did not lose years of their life in their fights. It's idiotic to say these things. There are people who lose limbs in wars who go on to live in their 80's and 90's.

losing a limb is quite different than being bruised and beaten.
The body has to work to heal the bruised body and (depending the extent of the bruised through the whole body), it is harder on the body than to heal one place where the limb was severed...

But more than that, I think people mean the obvious effects he will feel on his body now and when he gets older.
Again, a person without one hand won't suffer the same effects of multiple fractures, damages to the eyes and so forth.
I don't envy any MMA fighter when they get old. They will suffer A LOT for the punishment their bodies goes through during their youth.

Yes, a lot of those are from training, but some severe beatings leave deeper marks than others.

 

[Shaddows]

Kind of agree with TS.

I think most of the damage is done in training.

Guys who sparred like idiots (Shogun, Wanderlei) were completely shot in their mid 30s.

well... those guys have been in many wars though.
I do agree with you they trained like maniacs, but it is silly to claim training was what did them...

I mean, being a MW/LHW and getting knocked off silly by a guy like Cro Cop couldn't possibly help....

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Bullshit Rory is a shell of his former self.

Robbie then wonderboy destroyed this guy’s career. Rory will never beat a top fighter ever again

 

[Magnum1978]

Before

then....

After

It took years off his life!

 

[bigmacbub]

NFL damage is much different than MMA damage. It's typically the lineman with the worst damage. Those are 300+ lb dudes running head first into each other all game long. Week in week out.

There's a trend on Sherdog that anytime a fighter is in a tough fight, the next day on Sherdog it's "Oh he just lost years off his life. Definitely gonna be CTE'd" that is what annoys me.

I agree 100% it's highly annoying. Ppl who say the "took years off their life" sound like massive idiots.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Spot on. The TS's argument is a very poorly thought out one.
Repeated, prolonged beatings over the course of a career will definitely shorten the length of that fighter's time in the ring/cage, will take their toll of said fighter's longterm health & quality of life. And, yes, probably shorten their lifespan to some degree.
Sure there are anomalies like Jake Lamotta & George Chuvalo but they're definitely not your average fighters.
And, hopefully, nor am I because I had a long career in the ring as a pro fighter & a sparring partner. Taking a good amount of punishment in the process but other than surgeries to rebuild my knee & my neck & other assorted aches & pains I'm quite healthy. I've had all sorts of neurological & cognitive testing & I show no signs of any degeneration.
But, unfortunately, I can't say the same for many of my friends & peers. A lot of them that began fighting around the same time as I did are in very bad shape now.

That’s good to hear brotha. Glad to hear you still got your wits about you.
It’s a shame to see it happen to people you know and love, I too have a few buddies whom got started a little earlier than me that were mainly kickboxers, they are starting to show some signs that really are concerning. I myself have moments where I have bad memory lapses.

A lot of people don’t understand the rigors you put your body through to fight at any level. Most “fans” these days think fighters are action figures that you can just bang around for a bit and then do it again next week.
Those same people have never had a jaw wired shut, a nose pushed back into place or stared in a mirror a day or two after a fight and looked at the mangled lumpy ass shade of a person you resemble and asked yourself “is this fucking worth it?”
Anyway sorry for the rant, TS really made a very ignorant statement for someone who claims to be a fan of fighting.

 

[snackgod]

The kind of damage you get from a UFC fight does not take years off your life. Junior Dos Santos did not lose years of his life in the Cain Velasquez fights. Rory Macdonald and Robbie Lawler did not lose years of their life in their fights. It's idiotic to say these things. There are people who lose limbs in wars who go on to live in their 80's and 90's.

i also wish people would quit saying im getting ready to go to war. no your not brian stann is the only person who knows what getting ready for war really is.

 

[avenue94]

Jake lamotta took more beatings Than any man and he lived A LONG LIFE

And people die early in their careers. The exception doesn't prove the rule.

 

[TankvsNelmark]

He's right though did Ali die young?

 

[Dorkman]

Your lack of common sense is taking years off your life as a functioning human.

This post is trash, delete it and your account immediately

Gary Goodridge is a prime example. His brain is almost completely shot at this stage and he has to be on heavy medication to combat the symptoms and depression. And he's only 53 years old.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

well... those guys have been in many wars though.
I do agree with you they trained like maniacs, but it is silly to claim training was what did them...

I mean, being a MW/LHW and getting knocked off silly by a guy like Cro Cop couldn't possibly help....

shogun and wanderlie used to spar 100%. wanderlei has cold KO'd shogun in training and vice versa.

thats bad news bears if you count the actual in ring wars.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

That’s good to hear brotha. Glad to hear you still got your wits about you.
It’s a shame to see it happen to people you know and love, I too have a few buddies whom got started a little earlier than me that were mainly kickboxers, they are starting to show some signs that really are concerning. I myself have moments where I have bad memory lapses.

A lot of people don’t understand the rigors you put your body through to fight at any level. Most “fans” these days think fighters are action figures that you can just bang around for a bit and then do it again next week.
Those same people have never had a jaw wired shut, a nose pushed back into place or stared in a mirror a day or two after a fight and looked at the mangled lumpy ass shade of a person you resemble and asked yourself “is this fucking worth it?”
Anyway sorry for the rant, TS really made a very ignorant statement for someone who claims to be a fan of fighting.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.
Keep in touch, man.

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

Some people need to be rubbed the wrong way. I find it completely disrespectful to the real dangers fighters face to diminish the consequences of the damage taken during a fight.

Very well put.