One of the hottest and fastest growing sports in the world right now is MMA and the UFC. The Ultimate Fighting Championship gives the human race a flashback to our more primitive times where men used to beat each other senesi for fun. Now, it is for sport with millions of dollars in advertisements, pay per view earnings, and contract bonuses. This has broughten rise to star fantasy MMA fighters like Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and George St. Pierre. These guys put their bodies and physical health on the line every time that bell rings and some of the effects can be crippling for a much longer period of time than a “fighting career”.
Unfortunately, one of these rare instances occurred in Houston in the beginning of November. At the time there was an event being held by LFA (Legacy Fighting Alliance). This is the rival to MMA and LFA is mixed martial arts promotion broadcast. The group came together as a result of a merger between Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance. At LFA 26, in Houston, Charlie Hancok fought Charlie Ontiveros during the prelimanary rounds of the card. Neither of the fighters had much appeal nor were household names but once the final bell rang everyone had heard what happened. Charlie Hancock allegedly collapsed and died during the events of the fight. From reports, the fighter collapased without a strike landed on him. Instead, experts are saying that he was weary from fatigue and this is what caused his body from funcitoning. Alas, the medical team was well positioned on the scene and was able to rush it quickly and act effectively. These actions allowed from this young man’s life to be saved. Contrary to this, the official statement that was released by LFA’s CEO, Ed Soares, said that Hancock collapsed during the fight after the he experienced a kicking blow to his body. The spokesman said that after enduring the kick, Hancock collapsed to the ground a few seconds after. This is when the referee signaled to the medical team to act appropriately and they managed to resuscitate him on sight. After further tests at a local hospital, it is believed that Hancock suffered kidney failure and he is now in stable condition.
This is certainly not the kind of press that the MMA is looking for. They have been thriving in mainstream media by promoting their sport to be an explosive and exhilarating sport, but not one where the athletes severely harm their bodies. If more of America does an MMA analysis of the game and realize the ill effects the sport has on these men and women; then don’t be surprised to see a dip in popularity and some regulation added to protect the fighters. Sometimes all it takes is a situation that comes out to be too close of a call where a fighter could have gotten seriously hurt. In this specific context, the outcome of these events that night could have been much worse and the shockwaves would have been felt throughout the entire MMA community.
