What's the science behind your chin going from iron to glass?

[BoxingFan653]

I never quite understood this amazing phenomenon. Liddell, Silva etc were all legendary fighters that could take bombs and stand there.

After Liddell got Ko'd by rampage, Silva to Weidman, and there are quite a few examples in combat sports history, its almost like these guys cant take even half the power anymore. Is it a ruptured ear drum thats not the same anymore?

Silva would have DESTROYED Bisping in his prime, he looked like he couldnt take a punch tonight. Credit to the count but seriously its history repeating itself.

 

[MCMXCIX]

Wear and tear.

 

[Walker Smith Jr]

Silva would have DESTROYED Bisping in his prime

In his physical prime he was getting finished by japanese lightweights in the 1st.

In his roided "prime" he was dangerous

 

[BoxingFan653]

In his physical prime he was getting finished by japanese lightweights in the 1st.

In his roided "prime" he was dangerous

C'mon man...dont make this thread about PED's

 

[Emjay]

There is no such thing as an iron or glass chin

 

[ViddyWellLilBro]

It gets broken.

 

[KONE]

You become more susceptible to concussions the more you have them

Also being older and getting hit when in their prime they might've avoided the strike if they quicker has a bit to do with it as well I'd imagine.

 

[Pointy Elbows]

A big ass punch/kick

 

[Hans Gercmiov]

Getting knocked out a bunch.

 

[J0N0]

I heard somebody say that once your brain has shut off once it trains itself that it's an effective protection and is therefore more likely to do it again.

 

[theleerygoose]

You won't find a lot of rock solid science on this surprisingly. What we do know is that a knockout is caused by an acceleration of the head, where the brain jolts into the skull. There is connective tissue that holds the brain in place which prevents movement.

The rest is conjuncture, but I have several theories on why a late stage knockout makes a fighter more susceptible to future knockouts. The first is that the initial knockout damages or weakens the connective tissue that holds the brain in place. Think of it like a rubber band. You can stretch the rubber band many times as long as you do so in it's working range, but if you stretch it beyond it's working range the resistance of the rubber band becomes compromised. Now imagine those rubber bands are the connective tissue in the brain.

The second thing is old age. All of the fighters you mentioned were in their late 30's and towards the end of their career. As you get older your neck muscles begin to weaken which many believe plays a role in your resistance to knockouts. It is also scientific fact that your brain begins to shrink in your 30's and if we accept the premise that a knockout is caused by an acceleration of the head causing the brain to impact the cranium, is it not plausible that a slightly smaller brain (we're talking microns here) would have further to travel and thus have more time to pick up velocity? You might think those extra microns would be negligible, but remember it doesn't have far to travel to begin with so they could be a significant percentage.