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[Xtremo]

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar survived a first-round battering and ultimately lasted five rounds to fight Gray Maynard to a draw at Saturday's UFC 125 event.

But did Edgar's stellar conditioning really prevent him from being knocked out?

MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin discusses the popular misconception in his last "Ask the Fight Doc" installment. He also explains if the fight should have been stopped in that pivotal first round.

* * * *

Hey Doc – A lot of people are saying that Frankie Edgar's excellent cardio kept him from being put away in the first round at UFC 125. Is there any truth to the myth that the better your cardio is the less susceptible you are to getting knocked out? – JP from Tampa

JP, that's an interesting question.

I had no idea that it was a common belief that increased cardiovascular fitness can lead to an increased ability to withstand a concussion.

Before I dive in, let's review a few important points:

• A person can suffer a concussion without losing consciousness (KO).

• All knockouts, by definition, are concussions.

• Concussions are injuries to the brain and appear to be cumulative in nature.

• Even blows that do not cause obvious concussions (sub-concussive blows) appear to add up and create damage (often permanent) to the brain over time. This is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

OK, OK, I'll stop now. But I hope that you get the point.

Our understanding of the physiology of concussions is far from complete. In fact, we are merely scratching the surface. But there is no significant medical literature that supports or suggests that the ability of a person's brain to withstand a concussion is directly related to his or her cardiovascular fitness.

My observations and perspectives regarding the first round of UFC 125 and Edgar vs. Maynard are as follows (and probably will annoy and/or anger more than a few fans):
Edgar suffered a significant concussion in the first round, which was evidenced by his loss of balance, loss of coordination and lack of memory of the events (amnesia) as discussed in his post-fight interview.
Edgar was able to continue not because of his cardio or his ability to think clearly but because of his supremely conditioned instincts. "Fight or flight" does not require thinking (higher cortical function); it is an instinct (subconscious). Think of the many examples of fighters who ate a big shot, are obviously "out of it" (concussed), and grab the referee's leg and continue to fight on for quite some time even after the fight has been called.
The fight continued in the first round because Maynard punched himself out and could not finish Edgar and – possibly far more importantly – the ref allowed it to.
Now for the most important question: From a medical perspective (fighter safety) and not a spectator's perspective, should the fight have been halted in round one?

Let no one say that I am afraid to enter the fray or am attempting to seek favor.

Due to significant concussion, the fight should have been stopped in round one, and by not doing so, Edgar was allowed to potentially suffer further injury to his concussed brain and thus exposing him to potential catastrophic consequences (second-impact syndrome).

I know it's not popular, but there it is.

Happy New Year. And once again, keep all references to my mother out your mouth!

Ask the Fight Doc: Did Frankie Edgar's cardio really prevent a UFC 125 knockout? | MMAjunkie.com

I thought this article was pretty interesting. Fighters who are concussed, but are on fight or flight mode have the chance of getting seriously injured in the long run as stated in his fourth bullet point...

I remember watching a video on Chris Benoit, and they were mainly talking about the connection from Concussions to his unacceptable actions and somewhere in the video, the host asked a doctor, something along the lines of, " at what number of concussions do you think a person begins to mess up his brain in the long run" and the doctor said "at two"...

This is pretty bad for fighters...I did not know every knockout was a concussion or even if you get as rocked as Frankie did was a concussion...
I guess the reason for me posting this article was for those of you who did not know these sucky facts..

[MickeyKnox]

...that's a sad, sad thought.

Makes my head ache just thinking about it. Last friday I did something i've never done before and decided to be a jackass with it and paid for my recklessness. I nearly knocked myself unconscious with my own knee (that I brutally ate) and afterwards had to sit there for about 10 minutes to recollect my senses. Thought I had broken my nose and gave myself a minor concussion because my vision was blurry and bright. Could barely remember some guy talking to me while I was still bent over. My forehead above my eye was swollen and made my eye/head look deformed. LOL!

...but all I could think about as I sat there, rocked, and felt nothing but my face/head throbbing was "HOLY FUCK, Overeem would crush my head like a fucking marshmallow with his knee and I would die." I started thinking about so many different KO artists and their disgusting, traumatic KO's on other men and just couldn't imagine as my small injury is not even in the least comparable to what so many of these fighters have suffered by another man. (I just have a nice big black eye atm.)

[0mega1]

Originally Posted by DayneFS

...that's a sad, sad thought.

Makes my head ache just thinking about it. Last friday I did something i've never done before and decided to be a jackass with it and paid for my recklessness. I nearly knocked myself unconscious with my own knee (that I brutally ate) and afterwards had to sit there for about 10 minutes to recollect my senses. Thought I had broken my nose and gave myself a minor concussion because my vision was blurry and bright. Could barely remember some guy talking to me while I was still bent over. My forehead above my eye was swollen and made my eye/head look deformed. LOL!

...but all I could think about as I sat there, rocked, and felt nothing but my face/head throbbing was "HOLY FUCK, Overeem would crush my head like a fucking marshmallow with his knee and I would die." I started thinking about so many different KO artists and their disgusting, traumatic KO's on other men and just couldn't imagine as my small injury is not even in the least comparable to what so many of these fighters have suffered by another man. (I just have a nice big black eye atm.)

lol. im sorry but could u please elaborate on why u attempted to/ succeeded in attempting to knee yourself in the face????

[HillbillyDeluxe]

Originally Posted by DayneFS

...that's a sad, sad thought.

Makes my head ache just thinking about it. Last friday I did something i've never done before and decided to be a jackass with it and paid for my recklessness. I nearly knocked myself unconscious with my own knee (that I brutally ate) and afterwards had to sit there for about 10 minutes to recollect my senses. Thought I had broken my nose and gave myself a minor concussion because my vision was blurry and bright. Could barely remember some guy talking to me while I was still bent over. My forehead above my eye was swollen and made my eye/head look deformed. LOL!

...but all I could think about as I sat there, rocked, and felt nothing but my face/head throbbing was "HOLY FUCK, Overeem would crush my head like a fucking marshmallow with his knee and I would die." I started thinking about so many different KO artists and their disgusting, traumatic KO's on other men and just couldn't imagine as my small injury is not even in the least comparable to what so many of these fighters have suffered by another man.
(I just have a nice big black eye atm.)

may I kindly ask why the fuck you knee'd yourself in the head? I'm guessing New Years Eve festivities got the best of you.

[Rise]

The Fight Doc articles are great and concussions are something MMA really needs to be more proactive about. They need to take some lessons from the NHL on how they are dealing with them and making sure fighters are well looked after here.

With MMA being still a newer sport we haven't really seen the long term effects of it on most fighters just hope they don't end up like some of the retired boxers out there who fought well past their prime.

[goodtimes]

I thought there were several fights that went on too long that night. Edgar was able to recover, but I was really thinking the fight should have been stopped. Letting fights go on too long has proven to be lethal in boxing, just because a guy can get back up and is willing to continue doesn't mean it's in there best interest.

[MickeyKnox]

Originally Posted by 0mega1

lol. im sorry but could u please elaborate on why u attempted to/ succeeded in attempting to knee yourself in the face????

Originally Posted by HillbillyDeluxe

may I kindly ask why the fuck you knee'd yourself in the head? I'm guessing New Years Eve festivities got the best of you.

I was trying to imitate Gray Maynard leading up to the fight, LOL. Jk, I definitely was NOT attempting to do it on purpose. It fucking sucked and now I look like I got socked in the eye.

I decided to fly up to the mountains in Tennessee to see some old friends and their newborns and was invited to go skiing by some of their relative's church group... long story short, I hadn't gone to sleep whatsoever the previous night and was delirious so I decided it would be cool to hit some huge ski jumps and try some 360's on my first day ever on the snow... Wasn't worried about hitting the ground but I guess it didn't occur to me that I could smash my face with my knee either.

Go ahead...call me a dipshit.

Originally Posted by goodtimes

I thought there were several fights that went on too long that night. Edgar was able to recover, but I was really thinking the fight should have been stopped. Letting fights go on too long has proven to be lethal in boxing, just because a guy can get back up and is willing to continue doesn't mean it's in there best interest.

This is very true but unfortunately those who should worry about this issue are more concerned with the PPV/fights to continue unless one guy is absolutely unable to... Sad.

For example... just IMAGINE if the fight was stopped in round 1 but Frankie was still "awake." I wouldn't even want to see how these boards would react...

[IceCold48]

when gray had frankie against the cage he was punching so furoisiously that he was punching the cage way more then he was punching frankie.

the only reason i say that is because that is when some people are telling me the fight should have been stopped.

the time i thought it shoulcve was when he went all rashad evans stanky leg the second time he got knocked down. i think that is what the fight doc is talkng about.

but isnt the rule you have to be able to defend your self and are able to continue? frankie did that so within in the rules yves did the right thing. the issue here might being in what should qualif as a tko

[born2kill]

Good article. I wonder if refs are required to have any sort of medical training. Thats a scary thought and the main reason I've steered clear of trying mma, eventhough its always interested me. Unless your really really good, probably top 5% you'll probably suffer more than 2 KOs. Probably a little brain damage and possibly memory loss and other effects.

I'm not sure about Frankies situation, i missed the first 2 rounds but saw the highlights. But in general there needs to be more information and awareness about the risks. And fans need to keep it in mind when they almost demand that "fighters finish" and complain about decisions. I enjoy a KO here and there, but i'm more than happy with a BJJ chess match or a wrestling clinic. Balance is good.