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[Sakara=Excitement]

Medical Beat: With fractured hand, Brian Bowles made the right call at WEC 47 | MMAjunkie.com

WEC 47 was an interesting night of action for all MMA fans – and especially this oddball who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon.

The now-ex-champ Brian Bowles suffered a hand fracture early in the fight, and according to the Ohio Athletic Commission, he didn't answer the bell for the third round (with urging from his cornermen). I felt bad for the kid; all that hard work out the window.

We've seen it many times before. It happens in fighting. I thought to myself, "Give him a few months to heal, and he'll be back. No controversy there."

Boy, was I naïve!

Then I let curiosity get the better of me, and I took a look at the discussion threads (which I swore that I'd never do again). Wow! The MMA blogosphere was crucifying Bowles – and that is putting it as nicely as I can. Bowles was having his manhood, heart and sexuality questioned and maligned. The comments were plentiful and brutal to say the least.

As a fan, I've seen (via TV) Bowles fight bravely on several occasions, and never once did I question his courage. I picked against him more than once, and he quickly made a fool of me. That young man from Athens, Ga., took the MMA world by storm.

Fans who will never fight under any circumstances (much less get into the cage with a superbly skilled opponent who is capable of dismembering them) will quickly comment that "Bowles is a wuss" because "so-and-so continued to fight with a broken hand." I love Urijah Faber, but he'd be the first to tell you that doing so with Mike Brown at WEC 41 was not the smartest thing that he ever did.

As an orthopedic surgeon, I realize how painful and tricky a hand fracture can be. I also realize the career-ending risks that are involved with continuing to fight another two to three rounds with such an injury. I cannot even begin to tell you the number of fighters who have seen their very promising and lucrative careers impacted or ended due to recurring hand issues related to a fracture.

Bowles is a top-10 bantamweight and a pound-for-pound elite MMA athlete – not a gladiator. His goal should be to win championships and maintain his career at a high level for as long as possible in order to make as much money as possible – then retire and enjoy his family, good health and money.

MMA is fraught with injuries, but needlessly destroying his body for the amusement of fans is not in his best interest.

The superbly conditioned, professional athlete Brian Bowles made the correct decision to end the fight and live to fight another day. He is a 29-year-old star at the top of the game with a very bright future. If he stays healthy.

Brian, stay healthy, listen to your doctors treating this injury, and come back stronger than ever. You did the right thing!

War Bowles.

Dr. Johnny Benjamin is MMAjunkie.com's medical columnist and consultant and a noted combat-sports specialist. He is also a member of the Association of Boxing Commissions' MMA Medical Subcommittee. In addition to his "Ask the Fight Doc" feature, Dr. Benjamin pens "Medical Beat" columns about issues relating to health care and combat sports. You can find Dr. Benjamin online at index, and you can read his other sports-related articles at blog.drjohnnybenjamin.com.

[Mac]

Nice article. It's funny, 3 or 4 years ago all these people talking shit on Bowles would have been run off of this very board as being trolls. Now there are too many of them to do so.

It's one of the draw backs of the sport getting bigger. There are alot of people who are not MMA fans that watch the sport now for the wow factor. All sports need to have a little bit of "spectacle" to them, I am just sick of all the people who watch MMA expecting the whole thing to be spectacle and could care less about the competition.

[Xanatos]

^^^^^^^agreed^^^^^^^

[U shut ur FACE]

Agreed, a lot of people cite the Faber fight or how other fighters have fought through things like that for our entertainment; to which I think is awesome but risky and stupid. A: Why risk further injury that could possibly conflict with your career in the future instead of admitting that you have a serious break? It's like not tapping to an extent because most likely, the fight is over. B: Who the fuck are we to tell a fighter he should have fought instead of seeing a doctor?? ........Seriously?

[up_n_comer]

Has anyone ever done what Bowels did? IMO it takes balls to do what he did I'm sure he knew what everyone's reaction would be, but he decided to live and fight another day hopefully other fighters see that continuing to fight isn't there only option when they badly injure themselves in a fight.

[pdx_boxer503]

Good read. Alot of people were talking shit about him because of this which was pretty lame, no reason to ruin your future for one fight, even if it is for a belt. Hope he comes back strong, the bantamweight division is getting more popular and hes a big reason why. Not everyone is as savage as Faber is.

[v3xi]

What if Patrick Cote didn't answer the bell in the 3rd round against Anderson Silva?

He probably would be on his 3rd fight since that bout instead of his first at UFC 113. As usual, people on these boards just e-riot without thinking. If they saw any of Bowles other fights beyond the total of 2 they saw on TV then it would have been realized that he had to do what he did.

[macewen]

Originally Posted by v3xi

What if Patrick Cote didn't answer the bell in the 3rd round against Anderson Silva?

He probably would be on his 3rd fight since that bout instead of his first at UFC 111. As usual, people on these boards just e-riot without thinking. If they saw any of Bowles other fights beyond the total of 2 they saw on TV then it would have been realized that he had to do what he did.

Rep'd
well put, i never thought about it like that...good point

[TheKidInside]

umm where did Faber say that was a bad idea? I remember in one interview he said his trainer didn't speak English so he couldn't understand Faber saying his hand is broken but followed up with "if someone threw the towel in I would be PISSED!"

[lwbrewer]

Maybe I missed it some where but exactly who stopped the fight did he go to the doc or did the doc catch it when he was checking the blood? Also comparing two diffrent fighters breaks isn't fair as their most likely not the same. So with out the doc's report from the one who viewed his x-ray we can only speculate about it. My take on it he was aready losing 2 rounds his bread and butter offense hampered this is only a battle not the war. So he can fight a nother day. Plus I think it would of sucked if he would of pulled off a victory then been out for a year then never returned. Just my two cents