MMA vs. Boxing

So i was watching PTI on ESPN and their 5 good minutes segment was on the UFC and they brought up what if a fighter dies in the octagon. Jay Glazer touched a little on why mma isn't that dangerous so i thought i would just add to that.

Minus the deaths, boxing is still more dangerous than MMA. There are several reasons to this.

First, is the gloves. MMA gloves are smaller than boxing gloves. Henceforth, if you take a clear shot to the face from an MMA glove, chances are likely that you will go down. In order to go down from a boxing glove, you would have to take a far heavier hit to apply to same amount of newtons to scramble the brain. This means one simple, and very important fact. In Boxing, you get concussions. Lots of them. Win or lose, you will take multiple minor concussions to the head. In UFC, you may only take three or four minor concussions (If you have a tough chin), or one major one. In Boxing, you'll survive dozens of minor concussions, which will eventually add up to be far more severe than one major concussion. To make matters worse, Boxers fight longer. The minor concussion number for a boxer FAR exceeds that of MMA. Major concussions may be the same, but since they're far rarer, its the minor concussions that add up.

As odd as it sounds, the less gloves you have, the safer you will be. UFC gloves are designed primarily so the fighters don't break their hand. If you go bare knuckles, several things arise. First, you can't punch as hard (Boxers can put far more force behind a punch without fear of breaking their hand than UFC fighters. Look at Urijah Faber v Brown. This never happens in boxing). Second, is that the less padding you have on your hands, the more on-point damage you'll cause. Meaning, your face will break before your brain does, with a closed fist punch.

Second thing is that there will always be a game plan. In Boxing, you have two options. Slug it out and take hits to your head. Or cover up, and take hits to your gut. And then hits to the head. In MMA, you have the option of going to the ground. You have the option to bring it to the cage. In other words, so long as your skill set is good, you will never be forced to stand up and take hits. The truth is that I would far rather take a broken arm or leg over 12 rounds worth of concussions. Boxing is asking for brain damage. Sure, your body will take far more wear and tear in UFC. But think of it this way, if you play it safe, you can tap out before your arm breaks.

Knowing when your brain cannot take another jab is a different story.