The fact that there are heartless people out there doesn’t surprise me. Some people just can’t empathize unless it becomes more of a personal situation. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s the way it is. And I’m no better, becuase I’m sure there are times when I have been insensitive. But those that are using this incident as a means of justifying their positions and opinions on the safety of combat sports are truly without shame.

If the doctor feels the pressure has been relieved, he’ll probably pull through. The brain can take a lot more punishment and be o.k. than most people think, especially at his age.

Provided Diaz survives all the swelling, he’ll probably have some personality changes, due to the location of the removal. There are parts of the cranium that can be removed without causing death, but the description above isn’t really all that precise. The cranium itself makes up most of what an average person thinks of when they think ‘brain’, so the left upper part is a pretty significant portion…and while we can survive without parts of our brain, that’s usually at a sacrifice for how we act (personality).

I’m betting it was a part of the frontal lobe…that’s the least likely to cause big issues, but brain surgery is brain surgery…even a small one takes a long time to heal and is no fun. I’m four months removed from a crainiotomy to remove an acoustic neruoma…they had to go into my skull to remove a growth pressing on the brain, not even the brain itself, and I’m still recovering. It was a month before I could think clearly, and I still have difficulty exerting myself…it’ll be at least six months longer before I can do jiu-jitsu again…even light rolling due to the pressure that builds in my head…I’d give him at least a year before he can exercise moderately and not get headaches.

Point being, I can almost guarantee a fellow combatant probably just lost his ability to do something he enjoys. If you are one of the insensitive types to the situation, imagine losing the ability to do something you enjoy. It’s a terrible thing to experience, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I hope he pulls through and hope he has a lot of support around him…that will be of a lot of help through recovery, and it will be measured in months, not days or weeks. He may be able to box again in a few years, but not without a lot of scrutiny from his doctors, and I promise he’s done doing it professionally. I hope he didn’t rely on it for providing for his family.

Best of luck, Oscar!

“a majority of the MMA community”

Wow, are you being serious? To me thats a ludicrous thing to say

You are naive Brent. I like the shit you write and without some of your news blurbs Bloody Elbow wouldnt be the same. But seriously, are you expecting everyone to share the same Hippy compassion as you? Not everyone values human life unless it is in there immediate family. I could care less what happens to him. But as a fan of MMA this does prove a point. Boxing has had far to many deaths and they should follow the example set by MMA and use smaller gloves. That way people like you won’t lose sleep, and people like Oscar wont die, and people like me can enjoy both sports again.

I’m with Brent on this one. This isn’t a subject to debate about.

Fans often times define their sport. I certainly hope self-proclaimed “hard-core” fans have more heart than “I could care less what happens to him”. That’s a pretty shitty thing to say.

Come on bro… Marquardt could have killed 2 dudes all ready with his pile drivers. Every event has its risks.

Brent is simply saying that there is a time to debate, and its not on this issue.

This is a terrible thing in any sport. if anything it has a very negative vibe for all of full contact sports.

My heart goes out to Oscar Diaz and his family—but this is a blog and everything is debatable here.

To the boxing purists who have been bad-mouthing MMA for its violence for years, how can we not bring Diaz up as an example?

Like Luke Thomas said, this is not the UG or Sherdog—and as long things are kept respectful, I think a powerful argument can be made from this for MMA’s record of safety VS other sports.

You are being upset by the lowest denominator. Relax, half the people crowing on ‘those’ other forums are little kids who have yet to mature and the other half never think before they type anything.

Take a breath and dont let the ‘forum trolls’ get to you. Thats why I’m here and not at Sherdog/UG anymore.

What if the same incident were to happen in MMA? The boxing purists would LOVE it because it bolsters the ‘human cock-fighting’ argument that they’ve been making for years.

Chalk one up for the home team.

“See! MMA is so much less dangerous than boxing!”