Former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he has had over 30 concussions. Varner, recently retired, only lost twice via knockout in his 35-fight career, sustaining most of his brain injuries sparring in training. There has been a recent push within fight camps to get away from the old school method of going full-out two or more times per week. The long-term effects are not exactly unknown--boxing and NFL football can serve as an example. However even sparring at half-speed with headgear can still have a cumulative effect. It's possible there is no such thing as safe fight training in terms of TBI and CTE. Former UFC and PRIDE veteran Gary Goodridge is one of the first MMA fighters to come out and say he has brain damage. Goodridge has significant (short term) memory loss and has difficulty recalling his daily activities--although his long term memory is intact. Recently Varner has been an advocate for a fighters' association. Currently there are no provisions for retired fighters in terms of long term health care except what they provide for themselves. Health insurance for professional fighters can be very costly and sometimes prohibitive. For example, former Ultimate Fighter winner Joe Stevenson traveled to Mexico in 2010 to have his knee x-ray'ed because he couldn't afford insurance stateside.
This is going to shock people, but here's an idea - no gloves. Gloves are designed to protect the hand - not the target. It is the punches high up on the skull that are the most dangerous. Without gloves, a full force punch to the top of the skull will break your hand.
This is something Rory MacDonald is a proponent of. I forgot to mention that former lightweight contender TJ Grant has recently retired due to ongoing concussion symptoms. There is a fighter who was never knocked out in MMA and sustained his head injury in jiu-jitsu training.
Damn, I didn't know that Grant retired. What a damn shame, its crazy how concussions can impact one person so badly and other people can seemingly recover from them rather quickly, at least in the short term. Its a shame Grant never got his chance to fight for the title. I hope his symptoms ease over the course of his life time and he can live a normal life. I would be a proponent of no gloves. I don't think it will ever get passed by athletic commissions though. It will be deemed too barbaric. Something about a little 4 oz padding makes it look much safer. The thought of the UFC trying to market bare knuckle fights seems like a media controversy waiting to happen.
