Is it really normal for us to encourage a brother to pursue this career? It may seem like a good ambition to some, but he could sustain injuries that would impede his spiritual growth. I wanted to ask for more insights on this so I can expand my understanding. Maybe I am being too pretentious.
Here is my back-and-forth with Grok.
List the most common ufc/mma injuries, short and concise answer
Here are the most common UFC/MMA injuries, based on studies of professional fights and training:
• Facial lacerations/cuts (often the #1 injury, especially around eyes, brows, and mouth)
• Hand/wrist injuries (fractures, sprains, metacarpal breaks from striking)
• Nose injuries (fractures, breaks, bleeding)
Concussions / head trauma
• Eye injuries (orbital fractures, swelling, retinal damage)
• Sprains/strains (ankles, knees, shoulders — very frequent in training)
• Fractures (hands, feet, facial bones, ribs)
• Contusions/bruising (body and head)
• Cauliflower ear (chronic from grappling/ear trauma)
• Knee injuries (ligament tears — ACL, MCL — common in takedowns/defense)
Lacerations and hand injuries top most competition studies, while sprains/strains and joint issues dominate training.
What about internal changes that aren't visible? Is there documentation about possible brain damage or cognitive problems from being hit repeatedly? Short and concise answer.
Yes, repeated head impacts in UFC/MMA cause internal brain changes that are often invisible externally. Key documented risks include:
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — a progressive degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head trauma; confirmed in at least one MMA fighter postmortem (Jordan Parsons, 2016); suspected in many others based on symptoms.
• Brain volume loss — especially in thalamus, cortex, and other regions; associated with higher exposure to repetitive head impacts (Professional Fighters' Brain Health Study).
• Cognitive impairments — progressive decline in executive function, processing speed, memory, attention, and verbal learning; seen in longitudinal studies of active and retired fighters.
• Other effects — slower processing, behavioral/mood changes (irritability, depression), and potential stabilization or partial recovery after fighters stop competing.
Multiple peer-reviewed studies (e.g., from Cleveland Clinic, UNLV, Neurology journal, MDPI) on professional fighters confirm these risks from subconcussive and concussive blows, with sparring contributing significantly.
How common is it for UFC/MMA fighters to suffer any of these injuries? What's the overall percentage? What's the percentage of UFC/MMA fighters that undergo surgery?
Injuries are very common in UFC/MMA, especially among professionals.
• Competition injury rates: Studies show 23–29% of fights result in at least one documented injury (e.g., 28.6 per 100 fight participations in early UFC data; 40–57% of bouts involve injury in recent state commission reviews). Overall incidence is often ~23–51 injuries per 100 athlete exposures (one fighter per fight = 2 exposures).
• Overall percentage for fighters: Most professional fighters sustain multiple injuries over their careers. Training injuries far outnumber competition ones (often 3x+ more), with pros averaging ~11 injuries per fighter in surveys (vs. ~3 for amateurs). Virtually all long-career UFC fighters deal with nagging or serious injuries.
• Surgery percentage: No single overall figure exists for all UFC/MMA fighters, but orthopedic surgeries (e.g., ACL reconstruction, hand/wrist, shoulder, knee) are frequent. For specific injuries like ACL tears, return-to-sport studies show many fighters undergo surgery and compete again (e.g., ~81% return for at least 1 fight post-ACLR). Anecdotally and from fighter reports, a substantial portion (likely 30–50%+ of veterans) require major surgery at some point due to cumulative damage.
Head trauma remains a top concern, with high rates in fights (e.g., 28–46% end in KO/TKO in some.
So, I have a few questions.
1 - Are we assuming that he will receive protection from the Gods and he won't receive any of these injuries, at least to the degree that will impede his spiritual advancement?
2 - He will endure the injuries, but maybe him walking this path and overcoming trials will allow him to be more "disciplined," so after he retires, he will heal with the help of the Gods and can continue his spiritual advancement? Is this a viable scenario?
To be honest, when I opened this thread and read its replies, it was really thought provoking, because many well known members encouraged him to strive for his goal, which didn't sound rational to me at all, so I wanted to post this and get insights, so this way I can expand my worldview and understanding.
Spiritual advancement comes first, and our physical advancement should be in harmony with our spiritual advancement, no? I think getting brain damage is very counterproductive to our main goal here.
I am not saying by any means that we should over concern about any harm and be soycucks, training martial arts in safe grounds vs. actually fighting for no reason is very distinct things, and I argue that the latter one is very idiotic and doesn't align with our path.
These are my thoughts, and again, I am only looking for more insights, because my understanding might be lacking, and posting this is the only way to find out. Thank you in advance, and Hail Zeus!