Will bare knuckle events be banned?

[Tentacle Grape]

IYou can actually punch a lot harder with gloves.

lol, know you can't. Now you can punch someone more but not harder.... knuckles....you know?

 

[TCE]

ABC statement: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021...c-statement-mike-mazzulli-bare-knuckle-boxing

“Therefore, the Association of Boxing Commission’s Medical Committee is especially concerned that athletes competing in BKB may be at higher risks for acute and chronic injuries due to these and other factors,”

“Disturbingly, and despite our recommendations, some jurisdictions regulating these events are still not following the minimum medical guidelines set forth by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) and the Association of Ringside Physicians (ARP),” the statement reads. “More concerning is the fact that many commissions still do not require any imaging studies (CT scan or MRI scan) in a sport where individuals are at risk for acute and chronic head injuries.”

“Every state and tribal commission needs to address safety and the process to how they do it. The ABC is not here to tell you how to do it,” Mazzulli said. “We’re here to help you do it, but (this situation has been) really disappointing. … These guys are recycling these MMA fighters that shouldn’t be fighting any more. They will not pass tests to be an MMA fighter so they go to bare-knuckle boxing. … This is a fine example of what is wrong with bare-knuckle boxing and what they are doing to these fighters. It bothers me. We talk about fighter safety and protecting the fighter at all costs. … This has got to stop.”

“Given the limited data regarding the medical risks of (bare-knuckle boxing), the ABC medical committee implores commissions who are considering licensing these events to proceed with caution,” the statement read. “Furthermore, we encourage those jurisdictions who are still deficient in these minimum medical recommendations and guidelines to immediately update and revise their requirements to include a CT scan, MRI scan and/or neurological clearance performed by a board certified neurologist prior to clearing a fighter to compete.”

 

[TheHitMan]

More people die in boxing. I started boxing in 1988.

I have seen more people die in boxing than both MMA and bare-knuckle, combined.

Most people making "the rules" have never actually had a fight, or even follow the various sports, which is a travesty, IMO

 

[asdf122345]

Don't think so.

 

[DaRivv20]

I don’t know I guess it depends on public outcry. Bare knuckle does seem to have more of a stigma too it than other combat sports because of perceived brutality.


Hopefully not though it would be a shame.

 

[Ares Black]

lol, know you can't. Now you can punch someone more but not harder.... knuckles....you know?

If you punch someone as hard as you can bareknuckle, you will almost certainly break your hand.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

What changes would you like to see in the coming future?

Not offering fighters that are 6-19 against other fighters who are 11-1.

If Dana had done this and the 6-19 fighter died Dana would be crucified by the press, and he'd deserve it.

The BKF matchmakers need to be fired and possibly charged with criminal negligence.

 

[Brueskie]

Bareknuckle fighting looks bloodier and more dangerous than boxing or MMA. It's like assault weapon bans, where the guns being banned aren't even actual assault weapons, but they look super scary so become a target for crusading politicians.

My guess is bareknuckle fighting doesn't have much of a future; it's too viscerally offensive a spectacle, and putting on gross mismatches surely won't help matters.

 

[Genki Sudo]

The wanton stupidity to put a fight like that together.

 

[Azure]

The matchmaker should be investigated for making a squash match..

 

[Dorkman]

I mean, maybe. But I highly doubt it. Boxing has multiple deaths across the world annually and nobody does anything about it. What damaged Thorton that severely was the fall. Which could happen exactly the same in pretty much all the combat sports. Hell Reyes fell very similarly to that when jiri Elbowed him. It happens, it's just fighting.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

In theory bare knuckle should be safer than regular boxing or MMA. Boxing is built for you to have your brain shaken around hundreds of times without being finished, and MMA has a lot more moving parts that could go badly wrong - headkicks, flying knees, throws etc etc.

Ultimately the landing from the KO is what killed this guy. He was a HW and fell in a way that would have caused neck and spine injury. The punch itself was nothing. Its just a freak accident pretty much. BUT....BKFC deserves some heat regardless because although it probably wasnt a contributing factor in this instance, that matchmaking should not have been allowed. A guy who is 6-18 in MMA, with 11 KO losses, and 0-1 in boxing with yet another KO loss. being put in there with a guy who is 11-1 in MMA, 3-0 in BKB, almost all wins in both by KO, and who had previously KO'd Thornton in the first round. Very irresponsible.

 

[lagofala]

Remember when Rogan was saying how Bareknuckle is super safe?

 

[DestinedAussie]

Let's hope the family is taken care of after losing a loved one.

any sport comes with risks that are unforeseen, but I'm with the rest. The matchmaker goofed on this one and BKB isn't the only combat sport to screw this up. Look no further than the beating Ion gave an overmatch Devin Clarke.

We all love it when the underdog wins but matchmakers and commissions need to do better here.

Lets be real underdog needs to have a chance. This is clearly a fight the commission shouldn't have approved. There wasn't a single thing that could point to even a slightly competitive fight.

 

[HHJ]

BKFC seems to just take guys that MMA no longer has use for,and have them get their faces all sliced and diced up,and get more CTE than they normally would have. And for what? A gimmick where no one wears gloves. Whoopediefuckindoodah.

 

[Khaiser]

Nah.

The organisation behind it could well be, and deservedly so. Scandalous matchmaking.

The harsh reality is, people die in boxing fairly frequently. I imagine bare knuckle is actually safer overall.

 

[daniel san]

Bare knuckles isn’t the reason why he died, it’s bad luck and terrible match making. The UFC is not in any way safer than BKFC due to gloves, but at least there aren’t as many extreme mismatches. Deaths will happen in the UFC sooner or later, MMA is one of the most dangerous sports in the world and we’ll know in a generation or less how badly injured their brains are.

 

[Tentacle Grape]

If you punch someone as hard as you can bareknuckle, you will almost certainly break your hand.

No you won't. Now if you punch someone in the back of the head you will and my hand did get broke like that. But straight up KO punch to the face my hand was fine.

then again, as a kid we used to punch brick walls for fun....

 

[thehighking]

To be honest they should remove wrist, thumb and metacarpal supports for all their fights in BKFC. Some of their fights they have only wrist support and some other fights have a glove that exposes the knuckles but protects everything. It becomes a whole different sport when people can't swing as hard. If you watch older illegal fights with no gloves. There is a unique style to the fighting. It is a much slower pace and people tend to pick their shots. The stoppages look differently. It's not from you losing consciousness.

I don't think fighters today would change their styles. They'd just break their hands more often.

 

[NoSmilez]

I don't think fighters today would change their styles. They'd just break their hands more often.

That is the beauty of the sport. If you want longevity then you fight a certain way. You don't have to go too far back in time but people who came up in bareknuckle fighting have a different style and it might not even be good for boxing ( look at Bobby Gunn or even Kimbo). I think the issue is the guys are just training in a boxing gym for a bareknuckle fight but they at least have to modify their style or take a crash course in learning how to fight without gloves. The one thing I like about bare knuckle fighting is that I haven't seen much eye pokes like in MMA.