On Tuesday, February 4th, high-profile competitors from the sports of MMA (mixed martial arts) and boxing convened in Washington D.C. with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Harry Reid (D-NV) in a unified show of support for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s professional fighters study. A total of over 400 professional fighters attended the press conference, most of them members of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), are already actively participating in the research. The work is focused on furthering an understanding of the effects of brain injury.
The competitive fighting and martial arts organizations, UFC, Viacom (Bellator and Glory), Golden Boy Promotions, and Top Rank Boxing, joined together in pledging a total donation of $600,000 toward the study – and the total is expected to grow. The Cleveland Clinic has already reinvested nearly $2 million of its own funds for the research. Sen. McCain says it’s Capitol Hill’s goal to combine the Cleveland Clinic’s research with the data and results of other studies currently underway which are focused on head injuries among combat soldiers. McCain noted:
“Frankly, there’s no other organization more qualified to do this than the Cleveland Clinic.”
MMA Organizations Elated to Participate in Head Trauma Research
UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said when Larry Ruvo, founder of the Cleveland Clinic, first approached him about this research, UFC jumped at the opportunity to get involved. The UFC immediately penned a two-year commitment in support of the study, according to Fertitta.
Fertitta said he then called Kay, his former business partner and current industry rival, to discuss taking part in the research. Fertitta remarked:
“They didn’t hesitate, they understood the importance of it and they stepped right up.”
Several other key figures in attendance spoke about the importance of brain injury research and what more knowledge about treatment and the long-term effects could bring to MMA and boxing. The study will examine additional variables such as whether some people become biologically predisposed to diseases like Alzheimer’s due to head injuries and what types of blows can cause the most damage. A wealth of unknown knowledge remains to be discovered, especially for sports like MMA – which has only been around for about 20 years.
A few speakers mentioned both sports’ notion of “leaving your career in the gym.” Basically, the damage taken during a fight pales in comparison to the constant pounding combat sports athletes endure year round during training and preparation.
Professional Fighters Cite Benefits of Brain Injury Research for the General Public
Glover Teixeira, the next UFC light heavyweight challenger, mentioned that any new information could help the thousands of amateur MMA fighters and boxers who train regularly, but don’t compete in major organizations like the UFC and lack access to the adequate medical coverage. Teixeira added:
“I see people get knocked out in the gym and they’re never going to fight. They’re just regular people with regular jobs. So, maybe this will spread the word out there that they should go get checked out.”
Current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, said he doesn’t recall suffering any hard blows to the head in his MMA career. However, Jones did experience a head injury during wrestling match when he was in high school that he thought little of at the time. Jones went for a throw and ended up landing on his own head. Jones commented:
“I saw those lights. Now that I’m older I realize that those lights were probably some type of concussion.”
This type of growing understanding of the seriousness and complexity of head trauma will only grow as the Cleveland Clinic delves deeper into their research and continues to gain the support of the right figures in professional sports and Congress.
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