UFC and Bellator are the two biggest MMA promotions in the world. For many years now, these two have been the home of the best fighters and leaders in the MMA market. And as time goes by, the rivalry between them seems to be getting bigger and bigger. But, which one is better?

UFC is the best MMA promotion that is larger and more famous than Bellator. It is also much older, its roster consists of more skilled fighters, and it is a stronger brand. At some point, most elite fighters end up signing with the UFC, as winning their title means you are the best in the world. In the eyes of most fans, Bellator is often seen as the second league compared to the UFC. But is it like that?

Keep reading this article to find out more about how these two promotions differ from one another. We will also explore their comparisons when it comes to rules, the strength of competition, and many other aspects. 

UFC vs Bellator- What are the Main Differences?

UFC and Bellator are two separate promotions that differ a lot in various aspects. Here is a brief look into all you need to know about how they differ from one another.

• History– UFC is the pioneer of modern MMA in the US and their first event took place in 1993. Bellator came more than a decade later in 2008, with the first event taking place in 2009.
   
• Ownership– the owner of the UFC is the company called “Endeavor” which bought it in 2016 for $4 billion. Since 2011, the owner of Bellator has been the company named “ViacomCBS”.
   
• Fighters and competition — UFC is the home of the best fighters and toughest competition. They sign only the best fighters who already showcased their talent in other promotions, including Bellator.

• Event format– Apart from the regular events, Bellator still includes a “Grand Prix” tournament format. The early UFC events also included tournaments in the past, but they don’t do this any longer.
   
• Weight classes– UFC has eight classes for men and four for female fighters. Bellator has seven classes for men and just two for females. 
   
• Rules– Both promotions have adopted the “Unified Rules of MMA” put together in 2000. But, the rules differ to a small degree as we are going to discuss in more detail later in this article.
   
• Cage Size- UFC uses an eight-sided steel cage named “Octagon” that is 30 feet in diameter, 6 feet high, and has 750 square foot fighting area. Bellator uses a circular cage that is 36 feet across with around 1020 square foot fighting area space.

Is the Drug Testing Program the Same in UFC and Bellator?

No, as of 2021, the drug testing program has not been the same in these two promotions. Since 2012, the UFC has been working aggressively with the “USADA” drug-testing agency on keeping the sport clean. Bellator, on the other side, has a weaker testing program. They are not working with independent agencies like USADA or WADA.

UFC is doing a superb job in keeping the sport clean and stopping fighters from using performance-enhancing substances. The collaboration between the UFC and USADA resulted in many fighters testing positive for banned substances. Some of them were even champions and top fighters. But in modern times, the number of fighters testing positive for banned substances has been in decline because of steep penalties when caught and worse yet, stain their reputation as a fighter.

UFC Fighters must provide blood and urine samples whenever USADA needs them. It even doesn’t matter if they have the fight booked or not, or are in the church and about to get married. They must answer the call and go to the toilet to fill in the cup and give the sample. If they refuse, the fines and suspensions issued by USADA can be very serious.

As a regulated promotion, Bellator works with a state commission that tests the fighters before the fight. But this is nowhere near the same level of testing that USADA does. It is very weak testing and this is one of the key reasons why UFC is better than Bellator.

UFC vs Bellator – PPV Buys, Worth, and Revenue

UFC has grown into a gigantic company and is more successful than Bellator in just about every single aspect of the business. It is a very strong brand, which is, in some way, synonymous with the sport of MMA. Even in modern times, people tend to mix UFC with MMA, thinking it is the same thing. This shows you how big the company is, and let us back up our claims with some data. 

Who sells more pay per view?

The UFC has been using the pay per view model since the early days. And when it comes to the MMA market, they hold every single record in PPV sales and viewership. The biggest one was the “UFC 229” that sold 2.4 million PPV buys around the world. As of 2021, they had 18 events that reached over one million PPV buys and not a single other MMA promotion can come even close to these numbers. 

Bellator, on the other side, started using the pay-per-view model quite late in 2014. The event that cashed in most PPV buys was “Bellator 120” which sold 100,000. And we have to point up that more than 200 UFC events have had more than 100,000, which shows you how superior it is to Bellator. 

Net worth and revenue

The same stands when it comes to worth. In 2016, the famous Fertitta brothers and Dana White sold the UFC for $4 billion dollars to WME-IMG. In 2021, Dana White revealed that UFC is now worth around $9 billion and according to Moody’s rating, the UFC revenues for 2020 were over $800 million. On the other side, Bellator’s worth is much less with its total valuation ranging between $50 and $100 million. The annual revenue was around $80 million in 2019, and $100 million in 2020.

Are the Fighters in Bellator Just as Good as the Fighters in the UFC?

The short answer is: no, they are not. UFC is the best MMA promotion in the world and the home of the best fighters. Just about every skilled fighter who does well in other promotions, including Bellator, ends up signing for the UFC at some point.

Over the years, many young prospects have moved from Bellator to the UFC, while things do not go the other way around. In most cases, fighters who move from UFC to Bellator are in the late stages of their career, on a bad losing streak, or simply are not competitive enough to continue at the UFC level.

This is because the UFC has more fighters, and their roster is much stronger in every single weight class. If we look at the rankings in both promotions, all UFC weight classes are much stronger and tougher to compete in than the ones in Bellator. So if a young fighter dreams about being the best and becoming a champ, he/she must go to the UFC to be considered the best.

The math here is very simple to understand. Bellator is signing talented young fighters who are still working their way up in the MMA world. Once they pass the initial tests and get the hype going, the UFC will sign them as potential stars. You can look at the UFC as the NBA of MMA, while Bellator is the NCAA league where players are working their way up.

Are the rules different between UFC and Bellator?

The rules are very much the same since both promotions have adopted the “Unified Rules of MMA”. This means the rules are the same when it comes to:

• legal and illegal strikes
• length and number of rounds, and rest period between them
• scoring system and judges criteria

But, the Unified Rules allow both promotions to make certain changes. This is why some of the rules differ between these two promotions and here is all you need to know about that.

In Bellator, for instance, only championship fights are five rounds while nontitle bouts are three rounds. In UFC, however, every main event, no matter if it’s for the title or not, is five rounds which differs a lot from Bellator.

The other rule is the number of weight classes. According to Unified Rules, there are 14 weight classes for men and five for female fighters. But, this doesn’t mean that all MMA promotions must include all weight classes.

The UFC, for instance, has eight weight classes for men and four for females. Bellator, on the other side, has seven weight classes for men and two weight classes for female fighters. In total, UFC has three weight classes more than Bellator.

Who are the Highest-Paid Fighters in UFC and Bellator?

These two promotions are a world apart when it comes to how much money top fighters are earning. UFC has richer sponsors, better TV deals and much higher pay-per-view buys than Bellator. This means they can give their fighters higher base payouts, pay per view and post-fight bonuses.

Here is a list of the most famous Bellator fighters and how much they earn per fight. These numbers do not include sponsorship deals and extra bonuses.

Fedor Emelianenko– $300,000 

Juan Archuleta– $250,000 

Patricio Freire– $200,000 

Gegard Mousas– $150,000

Lyoto Machida—  $150,000 

Source: Forbes, mmafighting.com

The numbers get much bigger if we move to the UFC. Here is a list of highest paid UFC fighters without bonuses: 

• Khabib Nurmagomedov— the former UFC champ earned around $6 million in his fight against Justin Gaethje. 
• Conor McGregor- the Irishman earned around $3 million for showing up to fight against Dustin Poirier. But this is without sponsorship deals and bonuses.
• Dustin Poirier- in his fight against Mcgregor, Poirier received around $1 million base pay from the UFC.
• Kamaru Usman– earned around $750,000 paycheck for knocking out Jorge Masvidal. 

Is the Bellator Cage Different than UFC?

Yes, the shape and size of the steel cage in which fighters compete differ a lot between Bellator and UFC. Bellator uses a much bigger cage that has a circular shape and is 36 feet across with 1020 square space of fight area. The cage design doesn’t have any corners which makes it much easier for fighters to move around.

The UFC, on the other side, uses a steel cage that has eight corners named “octagon”. The size of the octagon varies between the events as they have smaller and larger versions. The original version of the octagon is 30 feet across, 5’9″ inches high, and has approximately 746 ft² of interior area. The smaller version is 25 feet across and has around 518 ft² of interior area.

The size and shape of the UFC cage play a big role when it comes to the finishing rate or place of the fight. For instance, a smaller cage favors wrestlers who like to press and stuck the opponent against the fence/corner. They can use this position to score takedowns or tire the opponent out. One of the masters of this was the former champ, Randy Couture.

And when it comes to the finishing rate, the numbers don’t lie. As of 2020, the finishing rate in the larger octagon was around 48%. But this number was much higher in the events in which they used a smaller cage since around 60% of the fights ended in a finish.

Can UFC Fighters Fight in Bellator and Vice Versa?

Yes, fighters can leave the UFC to fight in Bellator and vice versa. Over the years, we have seen many fighters crossing over between these two promotions. In most cases, fighters who go to the UFC are upcoming stars who yet need to work their way up and become famous. But, there are also cases in which the UFC may sign a champion or a very famous Bellator fighter like they did with Michael Chandler.

Since Bellator is a league below the UFC, you will never see a UFC fighter moving to Bellator while they are on top. No, fighters who do that are, in most cases, in the late stages of their careers where they can’t achieve much. But at the same time, they are still famous and skillful enough to do well in Bellator. There were some exceptions like when Gegard Mousasi left the UFC to sign with Bellator. But this was due to the contract dispute he had with the company, not because he wanted to leave.

On the other side, some UFC veterans who did well in Bellator and even became champions were:

• Benson Henderson
• Ryan Bader
• Rory McDonald

Even though crossing over between the promotions sounds simple on paper, the reality is a bit different. Each fighter must sign a contract with the promotion they are fighting for. For this reason, fighters can’t just break the contract they signed and leave as free agents. No, they have to comply with what they agreed upon in the contract. But once the contract expires, or the promotion decides to let them go for some reason, they can join some other promotion if they want.

Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) has fast become one of the world’s most popular sports with a massive following of athletes and fans alike. As with most sports, there are several organizations attached to the sport that govern the rules and regulations of the sport and promote it on a national and international level.  

MMA is an acronym for the sport known as Mixed Martial Arts, while UFC stands for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is an American promotion company based in Las Vegas that organizes fights and promotes the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). 

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has evolved from a no-holds-barred mixed combat sport that was first seen in ancient Greece to one of the world’s most-watched sports that incorporates techniques from various martial arts from around the world. Read on to find out more about this fascinating sport and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that promotes it. 

What is the Key Difference Between MMA and UFC?

MMA is the name of the sport and UFC is the name of an enterprise. MMA is a sport like boxing or basketball while UFC is an enterprise that promotes MMA matches. 

Here’s an overview of the difference between MMA and the UFC.

What is MMA? 

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full-contact sport based on ground fighting, grappling, and striking. Also known as cage fighting, no-holds-barred fighting (NHB), or ultimate fighting, MMA incorporates a wide variety of fighting techniques and skills from a range of combat sports and martial arts that are fought around the world. 

Where Does MMA Originate From? 

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is based on an Ancient Greek sport known as pankration that featured skills in grappling and striking that were similar to those of modern-day MMA. It was performed at the 33rd Olympiad in 648 BC and all strikes and holds were allowed except biting and gouging. 

Fighters, known as ‘pankratiasts’ fought until one fighter could not continue or signaled submission by raising their index finger. There were no rounds in this ancient form of the sport, and it is thought that there were similar mixed combat sports fought in Ancient Egypt, India, and Japan. 

Before MMA was supported and showcased by the UFC, there were several mixed martial arts organizations, including Vale Tudo in Brazil, which focused on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighting and wrestling in Japan. These two organizations, however, only focused on showcasing their sports in their own countries and never really broke into the US market. 

The creation of the UFC in 1993 introduced MMA to the American public and the first show featured a competition with representatives of different fighting styles such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and Wrestling. 

What Are the Rules for MMA? 

MMA competitions allow athletes of different disciplines of martial arts to compete under a set of unified rules. These disciplines include but are not limited to: 

• Boxing
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Jiu-Jitsu
• Judo
• Karate
• Kickboxing
• Taekwondo
• Wrestling

How Do You Win a Match in MMA? 

There are several ways of winning a match in MMA. These methods of victory include: 

1. Submission (SUB): This is when one fighter achieves a submission hold and the other fighter calls defeat by tapping on the opponent’s body or the mat. This is a form of verbal submission. 
2. Knockout (KO): When the fighter is knocked unconscious due to impact or strikes from his opponent.
3. Technical Knockout (TKO): This occurs when a fight is stopped by the referee due to one of the fighters not being able to defend himself because of an effective attack by his opponent. A technical knockout is usually called a few days after the fight once the injured fighter has been seen by a doctor. 
4. Judges’ Decision: This version of a victory happens if a fight lasts all rounds, and the judges award the victory according to a unique points system.
5. Disqualification (DQ): A disqualification can be called once a fighter has performed three illegal moves with warnings. It can also be called if a fighter has been injured as a result of an illegal move. 
6. Forfeit: A fighter forfeits a match if he is injured. A forfeit is called before the match begins. 

Are Any Moves Banned in MMA? 

There is a long list of acts that constitute fouls and penalties in an MMA fight, and they are laid out in the Unified Rules of MMA. Some of the acts that are forbidden include: 

• Biting or spitting
• Eye gouging or fish hooking
• Kicking a grounded opponent in the head.
• Sticking fingers into opponent’s orifices 
• Grabbing or striking the throat
• Groin attacks 
• Striking the back of the head or the spine
• Abusive language in the ring

What is UFC? 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a promotion company and multi-billion-dollar enterprise that advertises and promotes MMA matches. the largest MMA promotion company in the world, UFC is based in Las Vegas and produces worldwide events that showcase the 12 weight divisions in the sport and feature some of the highest-level fighters in the sport.

The first UFC event was held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado in 1993. The event was held to determine which martial art was the most effective and featured minimal rules and no-weight classes. It saw fighters from a variety of disciplines including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Sambo, and Taekwondo. 

In following events, fighters began to use a variety of techniques from different fighting disciplines, which subsequently evolved into a separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts. 

As this new version of martial arts gained traction with fans around the world, the UFC gained greater mainstream media coverage to become one of the largest promotion companies in the world today.

UFC has become synonymous with MMA fighting due to its massive popularity around the world. As such, many people can’t distinguish the difference between UFC and MMA.

How Did the UFC Help to Develop MMA? 

When the UFC was first founded, MMA generally involved only two styles of fighting with one style of fighter fighting against another. For example, a wrestler fighting someone skilled in Judo or a Taekwondo fighter coming up against a kickboxer. 

As both MMA and the UFC grew, it became evident that only showcasing two styles of fighting in a match was not as effective as it would be to showcase a combination of styles and techniques. These, MMA fighters began to cross-train in different martial arts and perfect skills such as grappling, striking, and on-ground fighting. 

Mixed martial arts developed into a separate sport of its own with the UFC being the primary organization and major promoter of the sport. Today, it attracts the best fighters from around the world across a range of disciplines.

Were There Any Popular MMA Leagues Before UFC?

UFC was not the first organization in the world to promote MMA matches. The most famous promotions that promoted MMA matches before the UFC was even founded were:

• Shooto(founded in 1986, Japan)

• Pancrase MMA (founded in 1993, Japan)

• Vale Tudo (founded around 1920, Brazil)

A modern form of MMA began to emerge in Brazil somewhere in the 1920s. At the time, there was a huge rivalry between the two similar fighting styles called Jiu-Jitsu and Luta Livre. Fighters from both of these arts fought against each other in the famous Vale Tudo tournaments. 

Vale Tudo resembles what MMA is today. It was the first organization to promote style vs. style matchups and they were very popular. Everybody wanted to see fighters from diverse martial art backgrounds taking on each other. This was the first time in history when people could see an organized MMA event. 

Yet, the Japanese were the first ones to found a proper MMA promotion called Shooto in 1986. They established the first set of MMA rules along with some other stuff like MMA gloves. Shooto represents a turning point and the birth of modern MMA.

Final Thoughts

As with many sports, there is usually an organization that controls and promotes the sport such as the NBA in basketball and the MLB in baseball. When it comes to Mixed Martial Arts, MMA stands for the name of the sport, which is a full-contact sport based on-ground fighting, grappling, and striking. The UFC stands for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a promotion company and multi-billion-dollar enterprise that advertises and promotes MMA matches. Thus, the two are inextricably connected. 

Although Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) is a very popular sport, there are people who still see it as too brutal and violent. But, how dangerous MMA fighting actually is?  

MMA fighting is dangerous in spite of being a sport. Its primary goal, unlike most other sports, is to inflict bodily pain on the opponent to win the bout. For this reason, the risk of suffering an injury during an MMA match is really high.

That being said, fighters can and will do anything to hurt their opponent or knock them out using the techniques that are within the rules of the sport.

Keep reading this article to find out more about the risks of MMA, what are the most common injuries, and is it safer than other sports like boxing or football. 

Is MMA Training Dangerous? 

MMA training is not dangerous and you don’t have to worry too much about injures. Of course, this also depends between the schools as some gyms put more focus on safety than some others. But overall, the risk of getting hurt is really low in MMA training, and here is why.

First of all, the number one priority in all good MMA gyms is on safety and keeping the injury rate low. Students must wear the following protective gears while they are sparring or doing drills where they are exchanging strikes:

• Full-padded boxing gloves
• Shin pads to protect the legs
• Headgear
• Mouthpiece
• Groin cup (optional)

When students are trading strikes in training, for instance, they throw with 50% or less power. This is because the focus is on learning how to carry out the techniques, not on hurting the training partner. It’s really hard to suffer any injury if you are doing things this way.

MMA training gets even safer if we move to the grappling aspect of the sport. Rolling on the mats in BJJ classes is very safe because it doesn’t include any striking. If the partner catches you in an armbar or rear-naked choke, for instance, you just need to tap out to get out of it and avoid any injuries.

The thing is, MMA training differs a lot from the pro fights you watch on TV that may look brutal. You won’t go through those types of brutal fights in training, not even close. You can end up with few bruises on your body now and then after a couple of rounds of sparring. But these “injuries” are a part of every other sport, not just MMA.

Is Competing in MMA Dangerous?

Yes, fighting in MMA matches is dangerous just as in any other combat sport out there like boxing or Muay Thai. It differs a lot from training since the goal is to hurt the opponent as much and as fast as possible. Pro MMA fighters throw each punch or kick with violent intention to knock the opponent out cold. And they are also much more aggressive during the grappling as well.

In fact, the risk of suffering an injury during an MMA match is really high. Scientists at “Phys Sportmed” did a really good and detailed study on the rate of injuries in MMA. They used UFC injury reports from “Nevada State Athletic Commission” ringside physicians.

From 2016 to 2018, they recorded 291 musculoskeletal and head injuries in 285 fights. The most common injuries reported were head injuries (67%), followed by upper limb injuries that were higher among females (40%) than in males (14%). But, on the other side, lower limb injuries were higher among men (19%) than among females (5%). The results clearly show that the risk of injuries is really high in MMA fighting.

Unlike in training, fighters don’t wear any gear apart from a pair of 4 OZ MMA gloves. They don’t have to think much about safety as long as the techniques they are using are within the rules of MMA. Once the cage doors close, they use violent kicks, punches, knees, and elbow strikes to do damage. These strikes often lead to deep cuts, broken bones, brutal KOs that lead to concussions, and even brain damage in the long run.

What are the Most Common Injuries in MMA Fighting?

The UFC’s “Performance Institute” did a study on how often and what type of injuries fighters suffer in training and while competing. They did this by collecting all the injury reports from the training camps and UFC events.

Out of all injuries recorded, fighters suffer 77% of them in a fight, 10% in training, and 12% during the other activities.

The data shows that strikes cause most injuries during the training and UFC fights. Out of all injuries covered by UFC PI, head and face make up over 75% of fight injuries. Still, these injuries are not that serious and fighters can quickly recover from them in most cases. But grappling and takedowns often lead to more serious injuries and fighters take, on average, from 112 days to 129 days to recover.

Here is a list of body areas that suffer the most during MMA fighting, and the most common injuries:

1. Head/face(77.8%)

Fighters suffer most head and face injuries from receiving hard strikes like punches, elbows, and kicks to the face. The most common ones are:

• Fractures (broken nose, orbital bone, or jaw)
• Facial abrasions
• Deep cuts
• Concussions

2. Wrist and hands (19.5%)

Most common wrist and hand injuries happen when fighters are throwing strikes or grappling on the ground:

• Torn muscles
• Joint dislocation
• Fractures

3. Knee injuries (15.6%)

The knee joint suffers a lot every time an MMA fighter steps on the mats in training or enters a cage to compete. Certain joint locks like “kneebar” can also cause serious knee injuries like:

• Patella dislocation
• Torn Meniscus
• Torn ACL 
• Torn PCL

4. Feet (10.7%)

One of the ways fighters can hurt their feet is by landing a kick with their foot. This can lead to:

• Ankle sprains
• Fractures
• Contusions

5. Shoulders(9.7%)

Shoulder injuries in MMA are quite common and often happen during grappling exchanges. For instance, joint locks that often lead to shoulder injuries are armbar and kimura:

• Anterior shoulder dislocation
• Rotator cuff tear
• Pectoralis major tear

6. Lower leg-(5.3%)

Leg kicks play a big role in MMA when it comes to injuries like:

• Fractures
• Lacerations
• Abrasions

7. Elbow- (4.8%)

Most elbow injuries in MMA happen during the grappling exchanges. Some arm locks like the armbar often lead to elbow injuries like:

• Sprain of the ligaments
• Tendinitis
• Bursitis

Is MMA More Dangerous than Football?

Both football and MMA are sports that carry a lot of risks when it comes to injuries and brain traumas. For instance, the data shows that brain injuries occur in 23.6% of MMA fighters, while in NFL, that number is 25% according to their data. Still, this is just the tip of the iceberg as we are talking about two separate sports.

But there have been a couple of fighters who came into MMA after playing football in college and even played for NFL teams. UFC fighters Eryk Anders and Ovince St. Preux both played football before MMA, and they both think MMA is a safer sport  than football when it comes to brain traumas and here is why. 

When MMA fighters suffer a KO in a match or even in sparring, they must go through a concussion protocol. Once that’s done, fighters get a time off or medical suspension that can go up to 6 months. They use this time away from the sport to heal their bodies and recover from concussions the right way. They can also go back and train in the gym to work on the heavy bag, hit the pads, but they won’t do hard sparring.

In football, on the other side, players get knocked out unconscious all the time. According to one data, collisions in a single football match have a similar force to 62 car crashes. But in the words of Anders and OSP, players don’t take a time off to recover every single time they get a concussion. No, they just play through it. Their head and bodies continue to absorb hard hits in training, and even harder in a match each Sunday.

This increases the risk of brain damage since players don’t have enough time to recover from concussions.

Is MMA More Dangerous than Boxing?

The short answer is no, MMA is not more dangerous than boxing. If we look at the data, MMA fighting causes much more injuries than boxing. But in most cases, these are not the injuries that will affect your health in the long run. Since MMA fighters use all limbs to do damage, we see a lot of facial cuts, broken fingers, noses, and orbital bones. Boxing, on the other side, leads to more severe injuries like concussions due to repeated blows to the head area.

Researchers at the “University of Alberta” did a detailed study on injuries in both MMA and boxing. They used post-fight medical reports from 1,181 MMA fighters and 550 boxers that fought from 2003 to 2013. The study showed that the injury rate in MMA (59.4%) was much higher than in boxing (49.8%). But the study also showed that boxers suffer more knockouts (7.1%) than MMA fighters (4.2%).

Reasons why Boxing is more dangerous than MMA:

• Boxers use just their hands to strike above the waist only which means boxers are receiving far more head strikes. MMA fighters receive less as the sport is more versatile and includes kicks, clinch, grappling and ground fighting.
• Boxers wear full padded gloves that are much bigger than the ones in MMA. This means they can throw punches with full power without thinking much about hurting their hands.
• Boxing fights are longer as they include 36 minutes of action. This is a lot more than in MMA where non-title bouts are 15 minutes or 25 minutes if the title is on the line.
• When a boxer gets knocked down, he/she has 10 seconds to recover and continue to fight. This means that a boxer can suffer a concussion and continue on fighting which can lead to CTE in the long run. In MMA, it’s really hard to recover from a knockdown as the action doesn’t stop. If a fighter suffers a hard knockdown and goes down face first, the referee will instantly stop the fight. 

Has Anyone Died in an MMA Fight?

Over the years, there have been a couple of deaths in MMA matches. But, we must say that not a single fighter has died while fighting for a big promotion like the UFC or Bellator. As of April 2019, there have been seven deaths in sanctioned MMA bouts and nine deaths in unregulated fights. Here are all seven deaths that happened in MMA and the causes of these tragic losses:

• Sam Vasquez— was the first American fighter to die in an MMA match. He died on October 20, 2007, shortly after suffering a heavy KO loss against Vince Libardi. The cause of his death was a “Subdural hemorrhage” caused by the repeated strikes to the head.
• Michael Kirkhan– died two days after suffering a TKO loss in his pro-MMA debut at “King MMA” in 2010. The cause of his death was “subarachnoid hemorrhage”.
• Tyrone Mims– died on August 11, 2012, shortly after losing consciousness in the second round while fighting in an amateur MMA match. The cause of his death is still a mystery as the autopsy didn’t show any signs of brain trauma, heart disease, or the presence of alcohol and drugs.
• Booto Guylain– died on March 5, 2014, after suffering a head injury in the third round at “EFC Africa”. He died due to the swelling and bleeding of the brain due to the repeated strikes he received in a fight.
• Donshay White– died on July 16, 2017 moments after losing his amateur fight against Ricky Muse. The autopsy revealed that White suffered from high blood pressure but was not taking medication.
• Rondel Clark– died on August 12, 2017, while competing at the “Cage Titans XXXV” event. In the third round, Clark was too fatigued to continue fighting which forced the referee to stop the fight. He died three days later in the hospital due to dehydration caused by the extreme weight cutting.
• Mateus Fernandes– died on March 30, 2019, after suffering a KO loss against Obed Pereira at the “Remulus Fight” event. He suffered four heart attacks in the hospital caused by the drugs he took the night before the bout.

Do MMA Fighters Get Brain Damage?

MMA is a sport in which fighters have a high chance of getting brain damage. In their careers, they receive a lot of hits to the head while both training and competing. The years of fighting, being hit too hard and knocked out can affect the brain and lead to permanent damage. 

One study has shown that around 23.6% of MMA fighters suffered from a brain injury. But, this also depends on how long they have been fighting, and how much damage they have taken over the course of their careers. The longer they compete, the more likely they are going to suffer from brain damage in the end.

One of the most common brain traumas associated with combat sports is “CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy)”. This type of brain disease is associated with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). MMA fighters can get TBI from concussions or by receiving hard strikes to the head. Once this type of brain injury develops into CTE brain trauma, fighters experience symptoms like:

• Memory loss
• Depression
• Confusion
• Aggression

But, the long-term effects of MMA fighting and how it affects the brain is still unknown. MMA is still a young sport and we are yet to see scientists coming up with more studies on brain damage and traumas like CTE.