Why do people talk about the long-term dangers of hockey fights but not MMA, where punches to the head are much more frequent?

Question

Why do people talk about the long-term dangers of hockey fights but not MMA, where punches to the head are much more frequent?

In: 5

Answer 1

The problem with long term head blows is from protective gear.

Heads have hard skulls in them. People do not often punch bare fists into bare heads. It hurts the fist more than the skull.

And a bare head takes straight impact damage. You see the damage.

Gloves and helmets reduce the impact damage. This allows people to hit heads without hurting their hands. And it makes the outside of the head not wounded, but the jolt still shakes the brain.

The long term damage is caused by repeated shaking of the brain which is not apparent in the short term. So people are unaware of the damage and do not try to prevent it.