A few years back I wrote about how dis-unified the unified rules of MMA are in practice.  In short they are very scattered and inconsistent across jurisdictions. This week I obtained data via an open records request breaking this disparity down specifically for the definition of grounded opponents. Using the published rules across US State commissions … More The Dis-Unified Rules of “Grounded” Fighters Plus Knee Strike Data

The 12-6 Elbow. One of the more bizarre fouls under MMA’s unified rules. A foul that some regulators insisted on including in the first draft of the unified rules and compromise was reached. Over the years there has been pushback to remove the foul but health and safety concerns about adding a new tool to … More Data Shows 12-6 Elbows No More Dangerous Than Other Legal Strikes

A major Columbia University study was published this month finding that many NHL players die young and enforcers die younger. The study, titled Fighting and Penalty Minutes Associated With Long-term Mortality Among National Hockey League Players, 1967 to 2022, reviewed mortality rates among NHL players and broke down the findings based on the number of … More Study – NHL Fighters Die Young. CTE Pathology Common.

Adding to this site’s combat sports safety study summaries, a recent study was published in the Journal of Sports Medicine reviewing MMA fighter brain volume measurements and their association with sparring frequency. In the article, titled Sparring and the Brain: The Associations between Sparring and Regional Brain Volumes in Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighters, the … More Study – MMA Fighter Brain Volume Not Decreased Based on Self Reported Sparring Frequency

An interesting article was published this month in Frontiers of Neuroscience exploring the possible connection between the delayed (and progressive) symptoms of CTE and micro trauma from the normal beating of the heart. There is ample evidence that CTE is caused by repeated brain trauma from external forces (think repeated hits in combat or contact … More Do Years Of Heartbeat “Pulse Trauma” Explain Delayed Onset of CTE Symptoms?

Headgear does not prevent concussions or other brain injuries. Nor does it stop the progressive disease CTE which is linked to repeated concussive and sub concussive impacts. Despite this many athletes don’t understand the limitations of headgear. Because of this some observe that athletes take more hits to the head with headgear on. A recent … More Study – Fighters Take “Statistically Significant” More Head Shots When Wearing Headgear

In the latest brain health safety study research was recently published in The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation noting that various speech patterns could be used as an “effective” tool for screening combat sports athletes who are likely struggling with cognitive decline due to repeated brain trauma. In the study, titled Articulation Rate, Pauses, and … More Study – Speech Patterns Could Be Good Marker For Cognitive Decline in Combat Sports Athletes

In the latest research diving into long term consequences of serial head injury a study was published in the Journal of Neurotrauma finding that “Three or more mTBI associated with significant cognitive deficits“. In the study, titled “Lifetime Traumatic Brain Injury and Cognitive Domain Deficits in Late Life: The PROTECT-TBI Cohort Study” the authors had … More Study – 3 Or More Concussions Linked With “Significant Cognitive Deficits” Later in Life

Adding to this site’s data base of safety research summaries, a recent study was published in Research in Sports Medicine finding brain injury severity was worse in individual sports vs teams sports suggesting better brain health education is needed. In the study, titled Traumatic brain injuries in paediatric patients: individual vs team sports-related hospitalizations, the … More Study Calls For More Brain Health Education in Youth Individual Sports