"Up to and including death." How professional fighters risk their health. “I can’t see with one eye now.” Dentist fights in MMA despite serious injury MMA injuries
In MMA, like in any other sport, injuries happen, but sometimes they are truly dangerous and quite scary. I present to your attention the top 5 injuries in mixed martial arts.
In 5th place is the fight between and Dave Hart. In which Hill suffered an open leg fracture.
The turning point occurred in the second round when Hill delivered a low kick to his opponent’s exposed leg, hitting him below the knee.
Hill's ankle was broken like a matchstick from a self-inflicted blow.
The spectators were simply shocked, as was the fighter himself.
I won’t say that in this fight Silva suffered very terrible injuries; here the spectacle of the fight itself evokes more emotions, when the entire ring is filled with blood and the fighters are fighting as if to the death.
Silva most likely suffered damage to one of the branches of the ophthalmic artery. It is worth noting that if medical care is not provided, the consequences can be disastrous, even death.
So Silva was basically taking a risk by continuing the fight.
In lucky third place is a fight in which Wanderlei Silva broke Kanggu Lee nose and knocked him out.
All the excitement happens in the second round, when Wanderlei found his ideal distance and began to fight aggressively.
He showed his corporate identity, getting in close and throwing knees from the clinch several times. Silva finishes off a wobbly Lee with standing elbows.
A knee to the body, a left blow to the head, another knee to the head and the referee stops the finishing move of Kang Lee, who collapsed on the floor.
The second line of the top is occupied by the fight between Jose Aldo And Mark Hominick. In this fight, Hominick managed to show not only the strength of character and spirit, but also continued the fight with a huge hematoma on his forehead, which looked truly epic.
The impressive fight with Jose Aldo will long be remembered by MMA fans and those who simply like to enjoy the spectacle.
For five rounds, Mark fought like a real warrior, trying to provide maximum resistance to the Brazilian champion, who is one of the top three MMA fighters!
The judges awarded the victory to Aldo, but the performance Hominika could not leave anyone indifferent.
The first place is taken by a broken leg, which was caused by Anderson Silva in battle with Chris Weidman at UFC 168.
One of the most anticipated fights of the year came to an end when, at the very beginning of the second round, Silva, nicknamed the Spider, tried to throw a low kick to the inside of his thigh, but ran into his opponent’s knee and broke his tibia.
The terrible outcome was a surprise for everyone and left everyone in shock.
Silva fell, screaming in terrible pain, and referee Herb Dean had no choice but to announce the end of the fight.
This is how Silva himself comments on this fight: “I don’t think Chris should chalk this victory up to his own account. This was purely an accident. I'm sure I would have won this fight."
Friends, our top has come to an end, if you liked the fortitude of fighters who, despite injuries, continue their careers, like, and you can also subscribe. I wish you good luck and no injuries.
Cub Swanson knew something was wrong. He already knew this the moment Melvin Gillard hit him with a jumping knee during a routine sparring session in the gym. He tried to ignore the pain, but it became unbearable and he removed the mouthguard from his mouth.
What injury is considered the most dangerous for a fighter, both physically and mentally? Most fighters believe that this is a broken jaw.
Cub Swanson I realized that something went wrong. He already knew this the moment he Melvin Gillard hit him with a jumping knee during a regular sparring session in the gym. He tried to ignore the pain, but it became unbearable and he removed the mouthguard from his mouth.
“I remained conscious, but when I pulled out the mouthguard, I felt that my teeth were loose. My teeth fell out and I started getting a headache. I was shocked."
Jumping knees during training are prohibited in many MMA gyms. Melvin Gillard often used this shot in training at the Jackson-Winkeljohn gym. Many fighters viewed Melvin negatively because of this. And Greg Jackson and Michael Winkeljohn refused to welcome Gillard back into the gym after he left the Blackzilians.
Swanson knew his jaw might be broken, but part of him refused to believe it.
“When I came for the examination, I thought everything would be fine. The doctor said my jaw was broken in 7 places and I would have to live with my mouth tightly clenched for several months.”
For the average person, a broken jaw is an unfortunate coincidence. This can happen due to a car accident or a fall, but for fighters it is completely different.
Receiving and throwing punches is a fighter's job. They receive kicks, punches, knees and elbows. It could be ribs, a leg or an arm, but a broken jaw is one of the most terrible mental injuries for a fighter. We have collected for you stories from fighters who experienced such trauma.
Sam Alvey, UFC middleweight:
“It was a normal day of sparring. I worked with Sean Strickland. I worked as number one, Sean left. He was cycling, and I overestimated my strength, lowered my hands and tried to hit him with a blow. At some point, I felt that he hit me with a high kick. The blow was not strong, but it hit him squarely on the jaw. I sat down after this blow, they asked me if I was okay, I answered that everything was fine. When I got into the shower, blood came out of my mouth, a lot of blood. I looked in the mirror and saw that two of my teeth were cracked and immediately went to the doctor.”
Aaron Riley, former UFC fighter:
“I fought Spencer Fisher at one of the first UFC Fight Nights in 2006. In the middle of the first round he hit me with a blow, I didn’t feel anything at first, but then some strange sensation came. It felt like a tooth had exploded in my mouth. I didn’t want to believe it, but after a couple of minutes this thought stuck in my head. “My jaw is broken,” I thought. I tried to open my mouth, but I felt my bones split apart. That’s when I realized I had problems.”
Eddie Wineland, UFC bantamweight fighter:
“This was my 4th or 5th professional fight. It was 2004, and at that time athletic commissions did not work like they do now. There were no rules; each organization came up with its own rules. The tournament was organized in one of the smelly hotels of that time. The fight was supposed to take place in weight up to 63 kg, I made weight, but did not see my opponent. I saw him before the fight and I think he weighed 15 kilograms more. I defeated him, shook him with a strong blow and began to finish him off. I forgot about defense, and he hit me with a counterpunch. I entered the clinch and hit my opponent with my knees, but I realized that I couldn’t open my mouth.”
Denial is a typical reaction to fractures. Swanson refused to believe that his jaw was broken, but Sam Alvey knew everything from the beginning.
"I knew the bone was broken, but when I went to the doctor, I prayed and hoped that the jaw wouldn't be broken."
Wineland tried to find some explanation.
“I thought my jaw had moved, but then I realized it was still there. I was hoping it was the teeth that were broken and not the jaw, but all the teeth were intact.”
In some cases, doctors need to insert plates to stabilize the broken bone. After missing a knee strike, Cub broke not only his jaw, but also his orbital bone. When the surgeon installed the plate between the nose and cheek, one of the screws hit a nerve. Swanson says he still feels the effects of that surgery.
“Sometimes I feel like I have a terrible toothache, but my teeth are fine. I lost sensation on the side of my face where the nerve was affected, but this is even an advantage in my work.”
The body rarely rejects the plates, but Wineland had no luck with that either. After the operation, he began to feel an unpleasant taste in his mouth, a taste of rotting.”
Once the jaw is secured, it remains tightly clenched for 6 weeks. This means that a person will be fed through a straw for 2 months.
About a third of professional mixed martial arts fights end in knockout or technical knockout, according to a new study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, indicating more high frequency brain injuries than in boxing or other martial arts.
Researchers from the University of Toronto studied 844 UFC fights that took place between 2006 and 2012. They found that 108 matches, or nearly 13 percent, ended in knockouts. Another 179 matches, or 21 percent, ended by technical knockout, typically where fighters are hit in the head five to 10 times in the final 10 seconds before the fight is stopped. In TKO videos, most head shots are thrown during the last 30 seconds of the fight.
Professional mixed martial arts include elements of wrestling, judo, boxing and kickboxing. The fighters wear small, fingerless gloves and there is no protective headgear.
Officials from the UFC and major brands in the sport want permission to stage fights in New York (New York is the only state where MMA fights are banned - site note) and argue that mixed martial arts has evolved over 20 years with many rules safety measures to protect fighters, including mandatory suspensions following concussions. They say it is safer than boxing, where fighters typically take repeated blows from padded gloves, with no history of death or traumatic brain injury suffered in the ring.
“Through our partnership with Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's leading medical research institutions, which conducts cutting-edge research aimed at not only preventing long-term brain injuries, but also identifying those who are susceptible to them. The UFC demonstrates a true commitment to the safety of all professional athletes." , said Lawrence Epstein, UFC chief operating officer.
Researchers who have conducted free, ongoing assessments of fighters' brain health examine factors such as genetics, lifestyle or exposure to head trauma and susceptibility to injury. University of Toronto researchers who studied UFC fights found the time from a knockout blow—often a blow to the jaw—to the fight being stopped. On average 3.5 seconds after receiving head hits (average of more than 2.6 hits). In the case of technical knockouts, they found that during the final 30 seconds before a stoppage, the loser was hit on average 18.5 times, 92 percent of which were to the head.
Based on data from other studies, the rate of head injuries in mixed martial arts also outpaces football and hockey.
The researchers suggested introducing rules like in boxing, where a fighter gets a 10-second countdown and his condition is assessed after a knockdown. They also offered additional training to help judges identify fighters who are defenseless or unconscious so they can stop fights more quickly.
Mmain presents the 10 worst leg injuries in mixed martial arts (MMA). The selection contains videos that are not for the most impressionable, so please refrain from watching the videos in this article.
No. 10. Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen
April 27, 2013 | Newark, New Jersey
Few could have predicted Jones' injury in this fight, but it happened. Jones destroyed Chael Sonnen in the first round to retain his UFC light heavyweight title.
However, Jones' big toe suffered damage that was only discovered after the fight, when the fighter was interviewed by Joe Rogan. During the fight, Jones put pressure on his finger at a strong angle, causing it to break. Apart from the beating from Alexander Gustafsson, this injury so far remains the most significant in the career of the best fighter, regardless of weight.
No. 9. Megumi Fujii vs. Sherin Murray
Smackgirl: Legend of Extreme Women
November 29, 2006 | Tokyo
If the main event of the tournament is called "Smackgirl: Legend of Extreme Women", then you can expect something extraordinary.
The fight between Fujii and Murray lasted less than a minute, but immediately ended the latter's career. Murray never fought again. The result of the fight was a fracture of the athlete's knee. Injuries in MMA, as in other sports (except chess), are not uncommon, but this fight once again confirms that fighting is not a woman’s business.
No. 8. Ken Shamrock vs. Leon Dyke
Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 1
January 26, 1995 | Nagoya, Japan
Shamrock won by submission, literally twisting Dyke's leg. The move that Ken used is one of the most dangerous submission techniques in MMA.
However, the Dutch fighter competed for another 4 years after this injury.
No. 7. Jose Lundy-Jones vs. Brian Gassaway
TKO 32: Ultimatum
February 28, 2008 | Montreal
Another case of a bad kick.
Lundy-Jones, better known as "Pelé" for his kicking, landed a leg kick on his opponent early in the second round. A turning point followed immediately. After 8 months, the fighter returned to the sport. By the way, it was very successful. Since returning to MMA, the 40-year-old “Pelé” has only lost once.
No. 6. Rosie Sexton vs Tomomi Sunaba
Bodog Fight: Costa Rica Combat
February 17, 2007 | Costa Rica
In this fight, Sexton defeated Sunabu after holding her on the ground for over a minute. The fight was stopped. But why?
Sexton put her full weight on her opponent, creating pressure on her ankle, causing the bone to pop out of the joint. Firstly, it seemed that this was a turning point. But then it turned out that it was a dislocation - so terrible that Sunaba was hospitalized for 4 months and underwent several operations as a result of complications due to the infection. However, the girl fought again 11 months later.
No. 5. Jared Hess vs. Alexander Shlemenko
Bellator 20
May 27, 2010 | San Antonio
This injury may not be immediately noticeable, but it is very unpleasant.
Everything went well for Hess in his semifinal fight against Alexander Shlemenko at the Bellator tournament. But then Hess put all his weight on his leg after Shlemenko attacked him on the ground. His knee eventually dislocated. He could barely stand and the referee stopped the fight. Surprisingly, the fighter was indignant at the stoppage of the fight. But when he sat down on the chair with his knee twisted, he should have been grateful that the fight had finally stopped.
No. 4. Brian Jones vs. Justin Fowler
CageQuest 1
March 3, 2012 | Lakewood, Washington
The first events of the Cagequest tournament will be remembered by many for its terrible injury.
Fowler picked Jones up and carried him to the center of the ring. Seconds later, Fowler threw Jones, but he fell on his straight leg, causing it to break in half.
No. 3. Mike Thomas Brown vs. Masakazu Imanari
Deep 22 Impact
December 2, 2005 | Tokyo
During his 14-year professional MMA career, Imanari has won 18 times by submission out of 28 fights won. Imanari showed how dangerous his techniques are in his fight against Brown in 2005.
In this fight, Imanari carried out a quick attack on the legs, made a grab and began to apply a painful hold. If former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Mike Brown had given up sooner, his knee wouldn't have popped out. But, as the fighter has demonstrated throughout his career, it is very difficult to make him give up; he lost by submission in only 3 of his 35 fights. This time, his endurance cost him dearly.
No. 2. Corey Hill vs. Dale Hart
UFC: Fight for the Troops
December 10, 2008 | Fayetteville
The tournament, headlined by Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida, pitted Corey Hill against Dale Hart in the preliminary bouts. Hill threw a low kick, but the kick was blocked. As a result, Hill suffered a fracture of both tibia and fibula bones, but was able to return to the Octagon again after almost 2 years. After the injury, he had 10 more fights.
No. 1. Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman
UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2
December 28, 2013 | Las Vegas
This injury could once and for all end the career of one of the best MMA fighters in history. Silva suffered a gruesome leg fracture in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168.
At the 1:16 mark of the second round, “The Spider” landed a left low kick that was successfully parried by Weidman but unsuccessful by Silva. After more than a year of recovery, Silva made an incredible comeback and fought again on January 31 at UFC 183 against Nick Diaz.
“I can’t see with one eye now.” Dentist fights in MMA despite serious injury
Ilya Shcheglov is 31 years old – and he can improve anyone’s smile: he works as a dentist and fights in MMA. As an amateur, Ilya became the European champion; as a professional, he had 4 wins and 1 loss (from Jeff Monson). On March 26, Kemerovo resident Shcheglov won a fight in Moscow at a tournament of the ACB organization - and in an interview with site correspondents Alexander Lyutikov and Vadim Tikhomirov, he explained why he needed all this.
“Mom always wanted me to become a dentist,” says Ilya Shcheglov. – I studied in a chemical and biological class, from 8th to 11th grade I was engaged in boxing, and after school I applied to five educational institutions: polytechnic, institute of commerce, medical college, medical academy and food technical school. I went to food science to become a milk technologist, to college to become a dental technician, and to the medical academy to become a dentist. Here the choice was obvious. In my first years at the medical academy, I was an excellent student, I closed classes earlier than everyone else and had no time for training at all. Plus I was still working.
- Where?
- Security at a nightclub. That's when boxing helped me. Not in the sense of hitting someone: just if you are confident in your abilities, then you conduct the conversation differently. And people feel it.
– The phrase “Kemerovo night club” is strongly associated with wild video from YouTube“Security at the Barracuda Club is outrageous.”
– This is our club, our guys.
- Come on. Is that where you worked?
- Yes, I worked there. Our city is small - and the security from all the clubs knows each other; one person can work in several establishments. Then this was my social circle, we worked on the same shift.
– Are you in that video?
It's in the photos. Not on video. I have always been against such cruelty. But in defense of these people, I can say that no one in this video was harmed for no reason. Everyone begged for a very long time. I repeat: I do not approve of such videos. But, apparently, the guys wanted to show off and show off.
– In the comments to the video you can find the following information: one guard was imprisoned, another was stabbed to death, the third was stabbed.
- Yes, I saw it. Everything is not true. These people settled down, gave birth to children - and everything is good in their lives.
– Is it possible to come to terms with the idea that at some tournament, which most people simply did not notice, such a serious injury was received and vision was lost in one eye?
“When I was in the ward, there was time to think about life. There was despair and depression - not without it. This would be very difficult to deal with alone.
– What did your wife say when you arrived with an injury?
“She said: “We’ll break through.” Katya never lost faith in me for a second. And this helped me a lot. I spent two months in the hospital. When I came out, I weighed 112 kg. I started running slowly and getting in shape. I told my coach that I was ready to come back. He agreed. I came to the gym and couldn’t do the warm-up because of shortness of breath. The coach looked at me pitifully, and then began to refer to being busy so as not to train me. And I realized that he was avoiding and ignoring me. Such anger has awakened! I told him: “You do as you wish, and I will continue to train.” After that we don't communicate.
And all summer I just ran, struggling with shortness of breath. And now it’s the beginning of September. We were at our military shooting range, I had a bet with an officer on chicken tobacco - who could shoot better with a PM. You need to shoot with a cool head and focused. And then an SMS came, after which my hands began to shake, and I could no longer shoot normally. Barnaul promoters wrote: “Ilya, what shape are you in? We want to offer you a fight with Monson for November.”
– What did you answer them?
– I honestly wrote that the form is not very good. But I immediately grabbed this chance. There are two months before the fight - you can prepare. And I went to look for a new coach.
– By that time, it turns out that you had been out of martial arts for eight months. How did you get used to fighting with one eye? There the focus changes very much.
- The question is to the point. When I left the hospital, I couldn’t even get the key into the keyhole. Then I learned: you feel for the hole with one hand, and insert the second key. In general, the “near/far” focus has changed a lot. When the fight with Monson was scheduled, I came to the boxing gym, introduced myself, said that I was an amateur European MMA champion and was preparing for a professional fight with Monson himself. The coach agreed, then he held my paws and said: “Oh my, what kind of European champion are you? You can’t hit the paws!” I had to explain about the eye. Now I’m used to it, I hit people’s paws and my opponents too. Probably mine on-board computer I’m tuned in - I drive the car and insert the key into the keyhole without difficulty, ha ha.
– When you fought with Monson, did your vision problems really interfere?
- No, not at all. I will under no circumstances attribute my loss to this. Then I didn’t pay attention to the injury, but now I’m generally used to it. There was another problem: I prepared incorrectly. When the old coach abandoned me, I started training with boxers - after a month of training, it became very difficult for the boxers to hit me on the head, I was taught to defend myself well. But now I can’t understand why I needed this before the fight with Monson. He practically didn’t hit me. I needed to protect myself from the fight, hit him often myself, feed him with blows, not let him think, so that he would not have time to prepare a pass to the legs. And on top of everything: I should have worked more on my strength before this fight. I got carried away with the weight: from 112 kg I dropped to 92 - and by the time of the fight I only barely reached 99 (Monson’s weight is 107 kg - website note).
– First round you won against him. And he only made the pass to the legs once from the third time.
– Monson behaved unconventionally. All my opponents always tried to give it their all in the first round so that they could wear me down while they had the strength. It seemed to me that Jeff would behave the same way. I thought: the main thing is not to miss him in the first round, and then he will get tired. And he outwitted me like a child. In the first round, Monson worked with me 70 percent, no more. Going out for the second round, I thought: “Everything is working out, now I’ll run, rest, and he’ll get even more tired.” But when we reached the second round, there was a feeling that this was a different Monson. Even his gaze changed, his movements became different. He turned on all his strength and moved me to the ground.
– Using the “north-south” technique, Monson defeated 15 times – including Alexander Emelianenko and Sergei Kharitonov. Did you immediately realize that he was coming for him?
“At first I endured and resisted. I decided: if he manages to start strangling me, I won’t give up, I’ll be patient. But then he pressed – and my vertebrae began to crack. When they choke you and you just start to fall asleep, you can endure it, it’s okay. But here the vertebrae crunched so hard that you could probably hear it even in the stands. I gave up. Then for another month the head did not turn either left or right. Honestly, this defeat didn’t knock me out. Even though I lost, I was overwhelmed with emotions from the fact that I returned to my favorite business.
How do you combine work and hobbies now?
– I train five days a week – on weekdays. At the service they accommodated me and allowed me to train in the morning and work during the lunch break, making up for the morning hours. It’s also convenient for the guys: some people can’t come during the service, but they can come in at lunchtime. I wake up at 6:45 to take my eldest daughter to kindergarten and go to training. Morning training at 8:30, after which I go to the unit and work until 18:00, and from 19:00 the second training.
-Are you tired?
– My wife helps me a lot. She prepares food for me for the whole day - for 4-5 meals. Collects my bag, reminds me of what I forgot. Katya's maternity leave is over, but I don't want to send her to work, because without my wife's help it will be very difficult for me. We have been together for 14 years, we have two daughters: 5 years old and 3 years old. They watch my every fight and say something to me and are very offended that I don’t answer them from the TV. Now my wife and I go to CrossFit together. I can’t help but brag: she’s already won two competitions. We are waiting for the children to grow up and we will also take them with us.
– What knowledge gained at the medical academy was useful in sports?
– Physiological processes are perceived at a different level. It’s easier to understand sports nutrition: when you read about a product, you quickly understand whether you need it or not. The problem for novice athletes is that they uncontrollably consume sports nutrition simply because it is fashionable or has helped someone. My medical education also allows me to inject myself with vitamins and put on an IV. Or there was this case: I was preparing for the Russian Championship. In our unit, we were practicing freestyle wrestling techniques, and while throwing, I cut my lower lip. There were two weeks before the competition. I came to the first aid station, gave myself an injection, stitched it up, and continued training. Everything was healed for the competition. In general, I assess my injuries not as an athlete or a patient, but as a doctor.
– Do you make a mouthguard for yourself?
– Well, this is what orthopedic dentists do. And I am a therapist and surgeon. They made me a custom mouthguard, but, to be honest, I didn’t really like it: it seemed bulky and not very comfortable. A regular mouthguard from the store is quite enough.
– After training, your hands become clogged and may tremble. How do you deal with this when doing dental treatment?
– After hard training, my hands really shake. But there are a number of techniques that allow you to eliminate tremor, and you can continue to do delicate work. Everything works out well, the patients are happy. In dentistry, the main thing is to be able to work with your hands and communicate with the patient. I know people who graduated from the medical academy with honors, and real work They cannot cope with either their own anxiety or the patient’s anxiety. Knowing the theory is great and helps a lot, but it’s a completely different matter to go and inject a person.
– Which is worse: toothache or pain from a blow or blow?
- Definitely a toothache. I have the opportunity to compare: I see the same people in the ring and in my chair. These are different people. Remember your own feelings when you sit in the dentist’s chair. But this concept is very subjective. Sometimes the guys from the squad will say to me: “You are brave - you are not afraid to go into the ring. It's so tough." This is surprising. For me, the guys from our detachment are an example of real courage: they go to the mountains and know that danger is nearby, that they can start shooting at any second, that there could be an explosion. And this requires much more courage than just going out and fighting with your opponent with your fists according to clear rules.
Text: Alexander Lyutikov, Vadim Tikhomirov
Photo: press service of the ACB organization, vk.com/id39936153
