No-holds-barred combat deals a knockout blow to fighters' brains

NEW YORK - Blows to the head which often lead to concussion may be the most common end to "no-holds-barred" sport fighting, says a new study.

The sport - known variously as mixed martial arts fighting, cage fighting and ultimate fighting - is a blend of martial arts, wrestling and street fighting.

Competitions are banned in some US states, but others allow them, and pay-per-view TV has brought matches to a wide audience.

Critics call the sport barbaric, as fighters try to knock each other out with punches, elbow strikes, choke holds and body throws, to name a few manoeuvres.

However, defenders say no-holds-barred fighting is as legitimate as other combat sports, sometimes arguing that boxing is more likely to cause serious head trauma.

But the new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests that mixed martial arts fighting poses a greater risk of concussion.

In a review of 642 televised matches, Dr George J. Buse of the Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico, found that 28 per cent were stopped because a fighter suffered a head impact that left him disoriented or unresponsive.

That proportion is much higher than has been documented in other combat sports, including boxing and kickboxing, according to Buse.

The study has its limits, however. Buse viewed videotapes of mixed martial arts matches televised between 1993 and 2003, and documented how each fight ended. Though head blows accounted for the highest proportion of match stoppages, it was not clear how severely each fighter was injured.

However, Buse writes, it is likely that the signs these fighters displayed - altered consciousness, unsteady legs - were the result of a concussion.

He estimates that there could have been 48 concussions for every 1000 fighters in this study - compared with 19 per 1000 that has been found among professional kickboxers.

Other match-ending moments included neck chokes (14 per cent) and "musculoskeletal stress" from manoeuvres such as joint locks (16 per cent).

Buse acknowledges that video analysis alone cannot determine how badly the fighters were injured in any of these situations.

However, he writes, "this study did identify salient medical issues, of which blunt head trauma may be most concerning."

He concludes that more studies should look into the long-term physical toll of no-holds-barred fighting.

- REUTERS