The conversation and knowledge surrounding concussions and the affects they can have on a fighter both during and after their careers are more prominent and extensive today than they have ever been. This is a huge positive for combat sports across the board and it's something that the MMA leader is placing more focus and emphasis on.
Alongside studies written and posted by the likes of Erik Magraken, the UFC has started taking responsibility into it's own hands by releasing its own studies or recently announcing the promotion's first brain health education summit with invites being sent to athletes, managers and coaches.
In the latest release of more important information regarding brain health from the promotion, UFC commentator John Gooden sat down for an extensive and in-depth conversation with concussion expert Dr Cameron Marshall. The full discussion lasts nearly one hour and 20 minutes and is available via the UFC Fight Pass platform or the YouTube channel.
The chat is full of interesting takeaways but perhaps one of the most important is the following statement from Marshall. He explains why, when looking at the studies and research that has been conducted, receiving numerous concussions throughout a fighter's career isn't the main cause for concern.
The real danger is when those concussions come in a short space of time meaning that they have a greater impact.
I’m not one to try and change sports like there’s people to be like, ‘we gotta ban MMA because of concussion.’ It’s not the concussion that’s the problem and I say this as a concussion researcher. I’m not concerned about concussion injuries, I’m concerned about multiple concussions in a short-time proximity because the research basically shows so far that if you get a concussion and you recover from that concussion and you get another one, it’s just another concussion. You don’t have this additive cumulative effect but when they’re back-to-back within that temporal window of vulnerability we call it, then you start to get additive and cumulative effects.
