We all know it's going to happen. Eventually someone is going to get dropped on his head, elbowed too many times, kicked it the right spot etc... we all know name fighter is going to die after a fight in the UFC eventually. How do you guys think the public/media will react?
Those who dislike the sport will polarize the death to attempt to bash the sport and call for an end to MMA. Meanwhile, those who follow the sport will quickly point out the safety record compared to other sports. Stats will be on the side of MMA. Typical reactions.
Did NASCAR come to a halt when Dale Earnhardt bought it? Did boxing come to a swift end when Paret, Kim, Leavander Johnson, etc died? Did Major League Baseball fold when Chapman, Edmead, etc died? Was the sport of Fencing outlawed when Vladmir Viktorovich took a blade to the brain? When American gymnast Julissa Gomez went head first into the vaulting horse, did gymnastics come to an end? Did the NHL cease operations when Bill Masteron got checked to death? I'm kidding of course. Naturally there will be reviews and suggested changes but the sport will go on like all others.
The difference being, those accidents all either happened in a) sports with a long, rich history or b) in a different time. MMA isn't even legal is every state at this point. I'm not so sure it's going to be let off the hook as easily as you're suggesting.
One problem mma will have is what you hint at--when a death happens, it may occur due to a single strike or slam. That is far more graphically disturbing than when it happens in boxing. In boxing, you really can't point to a single punch that caused the death.
It's a brutal, violent sport. Injuries and eventually a high profile death are bound to happen. If you look at the UFC solely, it has a 17 year history with no deaths. During that same span other sports have experienced deaths. If I'm the lawyer arguing the case for the UFC, it's just too easy to hold MMA's safety record up against other sports. Unless we see a sudden rash of MMA deaths, the stats are just too favorable for MMA.
Agreed, but it won't just be those who dislike the sport. The same people that want boxing banned will jump on the ban mma bandwagon all the same. The most likely case of a death in mma imo would be from a broken neck and not strikes. (although the latter is of course possible but not as likely as in boxing) Imagine if that wasn't Fedor but some scrub Randleman had on his shoulders? That could have easily been very very ugly.
People will bitch and moan for a bit but then Dana will point out it's only the first death ever and boxing had thousands or w.e people will say good point and go back to watching it
