In the sport of mixed martial arts, precautionary measures are taken in certain situations to avoid serious injuries and even death. Usually, that is enough, but when it isn’t, and when a tragic event does occur, it’s a surprise for everyone.
That was the case last weekend when Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho passed away in a local hospital following a third-round TKO loss to Charlie Ward at Total Extreme Fighting 1 in Dublin, Ireland. Carvalho underwent emergency brain surgery but ultimately passed away due to head injuries after being in critical condition for 48 hours.
In an interview, the Tampa Bay Times recently questioned UFC president Dana White about the very serious topic prior to UFC on FOX 19 in Tampa, Florida.
“If you look at the UFC, as long as we’ve been doing it for 16 years, there’s never been a death or serious injury,” he said. “It’s all about doing the proper medical work before they fight, having the proper medical team there during the fight and making sure they get the right care after the fight. And that’s really what it’s all about. As long as you’re on top of that, it’s a fairly safe sport for a contact sport.”
Weight-cutting is another serious issue in MMA and recently caused a death overseas in ONE Championship. Yang Jian Bing passed away due to weight-cutting complications. Check out BloodyElbow.com’s interview with MMA commentator and commissioner of the Kansas Athletic Commission Sean Wheelock, who discusses weight-cutting and how he is involved in resolving the issue of unsafe weight cutting, by clicking here.
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