FATAL ARENA: Three Reasons Why MMA Should Be Banned

A full contact and intense combat sport, Mixed Martial Arts (also known as MMA) is a form of hybrid martial arts. It combines fighting styles and techniques of boxing, kickboxing, taekwondo, kung fu, judo, karate, Brazilian Jui-Jitsu (BJJ), muay Thai, wrestling, bujinkan, hapkido and many more. Its beginnings can be traced all the way back to ancient times where the inner caveman reins supreme in a harsh world that knows only two things – survival and power.  

Because of the rise in its recent popularity among the masses, safety and health issues and much legality involving the tournaments, people are rising en masse to push authorities and even governments all over the world to ban MMA.

Here are three reasons why MMA should be banned.

The first reason is safety and health issues. The growing injury rate in MMA competitions, including brain or head injuries are increasing. The longer a person engages in MMA fights, the higher the risk of hippocampus and thalamus size reduction. Constant trauma to the head, even if the blows are not that strong, can affect the brain and cause memory loss and lessen alertness.

The second is the high risk of dying. Since getting sanctioned as a sport in 2001, MMA has already three recorded deaths so far. Sam Vasquez, who died in November 30, 2007 in a Renegades Extreme Fighting held in Houston, Texas, was the first MMA fatality. His death was ruled out as a mix of complications from the fight. Michael Kirkham was knocked out and remained unconscious until he died on June 28, 2010 in a Dash Entertainment/King MMA fight in Aiken, South Carolina. Mike Mitelmeier died in 2012 after receiving an illegal kick to the head that made his brain hemorrhage, collapsing after being pronounced as winner because of disqualification of the opponent.

The third reason is the constantly changing rules. Because it’s still new, competition rules are always getting amended, making each MMA fight unpredictable. Legislation regarding MMA is still pending in some states even if professional fights are allowed in forty-six states as of May 2012.

With every move a study of precise execution of lethal and violent intent, witnesses are torn between those who feel an adrenaline rush to see these modern gladiators duke it out inside the ring and the others who cringe and abhor the blatant show of human violence in its most basic form. Banning the combat sport will likely be a lifetime endeavor for those who prize peace over violence at any given day.