UFC Vegas 63 Aftermath: Injuries Suck
We were robbed of a food fight with Calvin Kattar’s knee injury against Arnold Allen.
We simply cannot catch a break. Last weekend, Arnold Allen “defeated” Calvin Kattar via TKO. And by TKO I mean Kattar’s ACL blew out trying to throw a switch kick in the first round. This is the fourth main event that’s stopped a fight this year. Including Kattar, Aleksandr Rakic, Tom Aspinall and Brian Ortega we’re all handed Al’s for injuries. Three of those are knee ligament tears. Throw in TJ Dillashaw’s messed up shoulder and it becomes even more depressing. So with the lack of analysis for UFC Vegas 63 Aftermath, we will instead be talking about something a tad different.
UFC Vegas 63: Another Injury
Fighting with injuries really is a part of sports, not just MMA and combat sports. The problem is we as fans idolize winning while injured. Compound that with the state of pay in mixed martial arts, and it’s a recipe for fighters destroying their bodies for superficial reasons.
Kurt Angle is the prime example of fighting while injured. Before he was a fake wrestler, he was once the best freestyle wrestler in the world. He was a 2 two time NCAA Champion and won the 1995 World Championship in freestyle. Going into the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, stakes are high.
In the 1996 Olympic trials, Angle fractured two cervical vertebrae and herniated four discs. Of course Kurt Angle went on to win gold in the Games despite all the injuries. Thus the quote, “I won an Olympic gold medal with a broken freaking neck” was born and Angle went on to superstardom in professional wrestling.
The fame and fortune are worth it, surely? I wouldn’t quite say so. Angle had the athleticism and work ethic to become a star if he decided that the neck was too much and his health was worth it. But the lasting injuries throughout his career have been consistently around the neck.
Angle became addicted to pain killers for a brief time while dealing with the broken neck directly. While he underwent surgery for his problems, it wasn’t until 2003, seven years after the incident. Later that year, the neck injuries resurfaced. He suffered another neck injury in 2008, a tumor in his neck in 2015, and allegedly broke his vertebrae five separate times.
It isn’t worth the bodily harm and as Kurt Angle gets older, the injuries will be worse.
Other athletes that were great but ruined by injury include Bo Jackson, Pete Maravich, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Williams, and Tony Ferguson. All of these fighters push their bodies to the brink or had a stroke of bad luck. Careers and millions of dollars have been flushed down the drain because of pushing through injuries.
How to do things, Floyd Mayweather style
One such example of a fighter not fighting through injuries is none other than Floyd Mayweather. Everyone knows there is two different Mayweather’s: Pretty Boy and Money.
Pretty Boy Floyd was a defensive-minded fighter, sure. But his hands were snipers, putting down 22 of his 42 opponents. Not the best knockout rate in the world, but one that’s to be respected if you’re boxing. But Mayweather had a problem: his hands were breaking constantly. It’s not known how often they broke as Mayweather and his team kept that under wraps quite often. But we all know it happened.
So instead of fighting through and being a tough guy, Floyd Mayweather changed his style. Floyd “Money” Mayweather was born in April of 2012. He fought only 8 times after that and the list of fights were as follows: Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision, Robert Guerrero via unanimous decision, Canelo via majority decision, Marcos Maidana via majority decision, Marcos Maidana again via unanimous decision, Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision, Andre Berto via unanimous decision and, of course, Conor McGregor via TKO in round 10.
That McGregor fight wasn’t even a knockout because of Mayweather’s power, but more for his pace and McGregor’s poor cardio.
Mayweather knew what his body was telling him and adjusted how he fought to continue his iconic career and go a record breaking 50-0 as a boxer.
To fight or not to fight…
Now I don’t want to send accusations at Calvin Kattar saying he has been doing preparing for a fight injured. In fact, his off the switch kick is something that just happens. But taking the break and going into the next round was almost foolish. Much like Aaron Pico trying to go out in round two after his shoulder popped out of socket is exactly what I’m thinking about.
I know the old saying, these guys are warriors. They want to go out on their shield. But what I’m saying is they should not. In the long run, a fighters health is already on the line enough as it is with all the training and wars they go through during their career. Listening to their bodies will make their careers longer and more fruitful. Fighter pay is an issue, sure, but quality of life is much bigger of an issue later in life.