Michael Kirkham Death Spurs MMA Fight Review

MMA Fighting:

The South Carolina Athletic Commission announced Tuesday that it will conduct an internal review of Michael Kirkham's fight on Saturday in which Kirkham suffered injuries leading to his death two days later.

Also, Kirkham's death is currently under investigation by the Aiken County Coroner's Office as a standard procedure for any death within the county.

Read the whole story: MMA Fighting

Comments

[rrrich7]

03:03 PM on 07/05/2010

Just my opinion, but they can do away with football, hockey, boxing and MMA!

[Newthron]

07:09 PM on 07/03/2010

We are getting close to the games of back then, with the Spartacus kinds, where the gladiator would perish in the arena. We will get there. Just see how violent our society has remained. We have aestheticized violence and commercialized it.
The show can't be stopped, and it will go on, where ever it will go.

[angrymanspokane]

11:40 AM on 07/02/2010

Eventually, no one will be allowed to do anything that is even remotely risky. One day we'll all be wearing helmets and body armor in our cars (speed limit 25 MPH max). Bikes will be outlawed because someone died on one once. Our homes will be completely padded, no stairs, pools or tubs - too dangerous. No contact sports, no running, no sex - all much too hazardous to our precious well-being.

We'll all sit quietly in the safety of our homes and wait for the government to provide for our every need.

[Wirehedd]

07:02 PM on 07/04/2010

sounds very "Demolition Man" to me... scary.

[henrypapillon]

12:02 PM on 07/01/2010

When we must stop killing each other in the ring then that is the day our liberty is lost and life isn't worth living. (TIC)

[ttrider]

01:11 PM on 07/01/2010

Yep looks like boxing needs to go.

[henrypapillon]

03:05 PM on 07/01/2010

That, too, along with MMA and dogfighting.

[Jeremy Lucas]

12:48 AM on 07/01/2010

Guess what all sports have a risk of death.

People have died during professional competition in
Sailing
Football
Professional wrestling
Boxing (13 deaths inside the ring since 1954)
speed sking
Rugby
Nascar
Luge(One was this year)
NHL
Fencing
Cricket
Bobsled
Soccer has had 4 deaths - this year
Chess had a guy die from a heart attack during a match - Chess is too stressful and dangerous, we better get rid of that "sport"

I wonder per participant which is more fatal MMA or driving a car?

[abuja19]

03:00 AM on 07/01/2010

I say ban MMA.

[Jacob Black]

09:20 AM on 07/01/2010

Along with professional football?

[KriTiKiT]

09:54 AM on 07/01/2010

ban the ground and pound
like they ban punching the back of the head in boxing... or hitting the kidneys, or below the belt...

the ground and pound is like being in a car wreck

[Spartan112]

10:33 AM on 07/01/2010

So is every down of fotball for an interior lineman.

[Jacob Black]

12:34 PM on 07/01/2010

Which is worse, getting three or four hard shots on the ground that end the fight in mma, or getting stood back up to take fifty or sixty more thumps to the melon in boxing?

[KriTiKiT]

12:32 AM on 07/01/2010

this is a bland sport. bland bland bland... they claim to pull from all the martial arts but the fights all end in the same ways...
pounding a head in to the mat or cutting off someone air supply. yawn...

[Spartan112]

01:19 AM on 07/01/2010

That's not how they all end up at all.

[KriTiKiT]

02:48 AM on 07/01/2010

explain Brock Lesner, no martial arts skill hold the title and just looses control and pounds heads in to the mat... that's all he does... that is a MMA title fight BOOOOOORRRRRIIIING.

[Spartan112]

08:39 AM on 07/01/2010

How is whether it is boring to you or not even relevant to the discussion at hand? I say soccer is boring, but I don't ask for it to be banned. I just watch something else instead.

[KriTiKiT]

09:23 AM on 07/01/2010

I am not insecure about my ability to whompsome serious "can"... I have trained in 6 different disciplines since i was six years old, i have trained with companies and contractors (i'm 30 now). That's why I see MMA for what it is, a cheap way for a promoter to play odds with a bookie and make some serious, tax free cash.
any truly disciplined martial artist knows that the MMA fighters have emotional problems that lead to serious control issues...
by the way Ayd Rand is a crazy libertarian communist infiltrator that advocates smashing the government, and letting the poor wipe them selves out in forums like the MMA

[KriTiKiT]

09:44 AM on 07/01/2010

you wanna train a serious heavy weight find a Zui Quan southpaw and teach them to grapple I would pay to see that, HA!

[Blah Blabber]

12:23 AM on 07/01/2010

Actually the greater padding in boxing gloves DOES lead to greater concussive trauma. Read "Bare Fists: the History of Bare-Knuckle Boxing" by boxing journalist and historian Bob Mee. Anyone who has ever thrown a punch bare-fisted knows that it is incredibly easy to break your hand, especially when the hardest part of the body-the top of the head-happens to be near what you happen to be aiming at with the 27 delicate bones of the hand and wrist. Early prize fighters picked their shots, often going more to the body and relying heavily on feints. Fights tended to be incredibly bloody affairs, as the meeting of knuckle and flesh often is, and though boxers died in the ring, the overall deaths were a pittance compared to the numbers that resulted with the advent of boxing gloves and the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

With greater padding comes greater ability to punch without fear of breaking your hand. It isn't uncommon for boxers to throw hundreds of punches in a round, let alone a full fight, while in mixed martial arts where the gloves are only 4 oz. fighters generally throw punches of only several dozen, even then the end result are more cuts and broken noses than knock outs.

[handgrenade]

10:04 PM on 06/30/2010

Ok here is the thing. For those of you who see the sport from the corner of your eye, or have only seen a commercial with a highlight reel of knockouts or solid shots, I have a point of view for you. No one comments on the absolute brutality of BOXING. Boxing is a far more brutal game, with continuous power shots to the head, and multiple concussions. MMA is actually a very technical sport that appears brutal at times. Just like football and basketball and hockey, sometimes the moons aline and what not and a perfectly timed shot lands and looks brutal. Sometimes a perfect shot creates a cut, I'm a paramedic and I can tell you as bad as it looks its is really not that bad. Most of the "brutal" shots you would think would cause a lot of damage rarely cause the damage you people think that it does. I have personally given and received many of these knees and elbows and kicks. Do you know what I did? I got back up and had some more fun, because the human body is an amazingly tough piece of equipment. As for promoters, especially small time, they are rarely the blood thirsty back stabbers people would thing, in fact they are usually fighters, or coaches trying to get their guys some fights and usually do not make much money off of the events. So before you judge do some time and learn about the sport.

[DSevere]

11:39 AM on 07/01/2010

Hey, I'm on the pro-MMA side of this argument, but how about not defending MMA by bagging on boxing? Boxing also requires a lot of skill and training, and is also populated by fighters who have made the choice to be fighters and genuinely want to do what they're doing. As I mentioned in the other MMA thread, I sometimes work boxing matches as part of a TV crew, so I get to see boxing very very up close and a lot of fighters are just amazing to watch, I give them tons of respect and admiration.

[TrotskyMemo]

01:44 PM on 07/01/2010

This sport is pretty ridiculous, and the guys who partake in it... well, let's just say we aren't in any danger of losing any cancer cures in the octagon. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. They know the risks, and would be foolish if they didn't. This guy should have never stepped foot in the ring.

[Wirehedd]

07:50 PM on 07/04/2010

you sound like one of my own students. You would be in Sarnia Ontario are you? :)

[itsnotjustrepubs]

06:55 PM on 06/30/2010

I thought this mma stuff was cool when it first started to get some attention, but now after having become more familiar with it, I think its an absolutely disgusting display of machismo and offers nothing for those who aspire to become an mma fighter. seriously, whats the point? beat someone up? i now consider it to be the domain of deeply closeted homosexuals.

[Spartan112]

09:30 PM on 06/30/2010

Oh lord...you're one of those people...

[KriTiKiT]

11:13 PM on 06/30/2010

hey sparty....
have I convinced you to ban the full guard ground and pound

[Wirehedd]

07:52 PM on 07/04/2010

wow. That in the dark?

Seriously?

Projecting at all maybe? :)

[ThruSpaceAndTime]

05:54 PM on 06/30/2010

A thrusting knee to the eye socket is bound to cause serious damage if not death. We might as well legalize dog fighting. I know -- people love the sport. I realize the discipline training and the dedication to mind and body development that is the martial arts. This comment has nothing to do with the martial arts. But the spectacle of MMA, to me, is as barbaric as you can be and still presume a modicum of dignity. The fighters will be exploited by those who seek to harbor the cash, new sport -- same agenda, new face, same chump played as a fiddle by people who could give less than a damn. Meanwhile, look for more deaths. As I started, a momentous knee to the eye socket is bound to cause damage. A flailing foot the knee can change a man. The blood sport, well if that is what we want – why pretend? Oh, I forgot, we do not want to show our true, hidden barbarism, but we do not mind hinting at it in sport.

For those who would be mad due to my point of view – take heart. If you are a fighter, an owner, a fan, whatever – party on. This is simply one man’s opinion who understands people have to get paid while still others get played, watch those in the spotlight when the spotlight fades. That is when you will see of what substance………………..of what material, the man is made.

[Spartan112]

06:19 PM on 06/30/2010

"A thrusting knee to the eye socket is bound to cause serious damage if not death." If this were patently true there would be a slew more deaths in MMA bouts as knees to the head are reasonably commonplace.

[ThruSpaceAndTime]

07:39 PM on 06/30/2010

Ok.

[TrotskyMemo]

01:50 PM on 07/01/2010

I know! I mean, The Rock took a lot of chair shots to the head and I've seen many a man powerbombed through a table as well, and they seem fine. It's all blown out of proportion

[HereWeAre]

06:50 PM on 06/30/2010

Please provide proof that a knee is a more dangerous technique than other techniques that you deem to be more safe.

Not anecdotal please.

[rambrad1]

05:47 PM on 06/30/2010

To all the people asking what this brutallity says about us as a society? To me it says that we live in a free society. Obviously these guys like to fight so what better place to go do it than in a cage where its legal and in a controlled environment. And if people are willing to pay $$ to see these guys beat the cr@p out of eachother then great. All the more power to them. So, you like to fight? Then there you go.Have at it. Enter the cage. I'll be sitting right here in front of my TV watching. So if you dont like it, you dont have to watch it. But just because it doesnt fit neatly into your grand utopian vision of society does not mean it needs to be banned.

[TrotskyMemo]

01:52 PM on 07/01/2010

Agreed. The only thing I'm thinking is maybe giving more probing (heh) physicals to potential fighters to ensure they're up for it, maybe not letting as many over-eager chumps with no skills participate.

[thegreyarea]

03:55 PM on 06/30/2010

A study by Johns Hopkins University concluded, "the overall injury rate [excluding injury to the brain] in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports [involving striking], including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of traumatic brain injury in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking."

[thegreyarea]

03:29 PM on 06/30/2010

A fighter who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs only 155 pounds and possesses an amateur record of only 3-3 would never have been allowed into the octagon if this were a serious MMA promotion such as UFC or Strikeforce. Unfortunately, small regional promotions often turn to so-called "freak-show fights" in order to drum-up ticket sales. In such promotions it is not uncommon to see obese fighters, musclebound fighters, or (in this case) freakishly tall and skinny fighters.

Unfortunately, such promotions also frequently do not have the same rigid safety guidelines in place as large, respected promotions. This creates a dangerous combination of fighters who have no place being in the ring and safety procedures that do not adequately ensure their safety.

[Pilatunes]

04:17 PM on 06/30/2010

I have to admit, '6-foot-9 and weighs only 155 pounds,' that is bizarre. I distinctly remember being 6'4" as a teenager, and weighing something like 185 pounds and feeling 'geeky' and thin. This guy must have been like a broom stick.

[Spartan112]

04:53 PM on 06/30/2010

ISKA was the promoter, they run Strikeforce no? This was a smaller division of the company I assume.

[thegreyarea]

05:34 PM on 06/30/2010

IKSA is a sanctioning body, not a promoter. Strikeforce is one of many promotions that are sanctioned by IKSA, Others include Tuff N Uff, Cage aggression Fight League & Extreme Cage Fighting (XCF). The IKSA is essentially the MMA equivalent of The North American Boxing Council, or similar organizations.

The fact that they are sanctioned by the same sanctioning body does not indicate any real association.

Strikeforce is owned and operated by Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, the same company that owns the San Jose Sharks of the NHL.

[thegreyarea]

03:22 PM on 06/30/2010

Whole lot of ignorant comments here.

In 15+ years of frequent competition there have been only 4 deaths due to injuries sustained during professional MMA bouts. 2 of those occurred in unsanctioned fighting events outside of the U.S. (Ukraine and Korea). The 2 that occurred within the U.S. occurred in fights put on by small, regional promotions that do not necessarily adhere to the same rigid safety guidelines as major promotions such as UFC and Strikeforce.

By contrast, here is the wikipedia entry for "Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing", which includes 36 names. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deaths_due_to_injuries_sustained_in_boxing

And before everyone starts trying to point out that the ratio of 36 deaths:4 deaths is merely a result of the fact that boxing is a more popular sport, with more fights occurring per year and thus more opportunities for deaths to occur...A study by Johns Hopkins University concluded, "the overall injury rate [excluding injury to the brain] in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports [involving striking], including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of traumatic brain injury in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking."

[StarWarsHippie]

02:41 PM on 06/30/2010

This is very sad but was bound to happen, these fights are brutal displays of viciousness. Yet people continue to feel the need to go to these modern day gladiatorial events. It's a society in decline that feels the need to entertain itself by watching such pugnaciousness.

[M A Ross]

03:10 PM on 06/30/2010

Yeah! Brute sports like football & hockey are to blame of the decline of western civilization...
(insert rolling eyes here)

You have obviously never seen an MMA fight for more than 5 seconds...

I've seen fighters who have pummled each other for three 5 minute rounds (or longer) and then physically hug and congradulate each other & their teams. I've seen fighters check on the condition of their opponets after the fight; even talking to them after a submission.

This happens about 90% of the time.in MMA

Not once have I seen it in football, hockey or any other televised sport.

[ttrider]

01:38 PM on 07/01/2010

I remember playing high school football and being trained to specifically deliver blocks that could potentially cause injury to a player's knee. They were perfectly legal blocks and the philosophy was that good players on the field for our opponents was a good thing.

That's high school football training me to brutalize my opponent and at no point was a I told to check on a guy I injured or offer him any sort of apology after the fact. In MMA, accidental strikes to the groin oftentimes result in heartfelt apologies from the guy who did it. I've seen fights where a guy who has accidentally hit his opponent with an illegal blow more than once in the fight was practically in tears because he felt like he was being unfair to his opponent. Similarly I've seen fighters give up submissions when it was likely that they would break or dislocate a limb during the submission. These guys are not brutal thugs they are sensitive to the risks that they and their opponents are taking. They frequently take steps to prevent needless brutality to one another. At the end of the day it's someone's career or life that is on the line if things get out of hand

If fighters were simple thugs they wouldn't care at all about any of this and would go out of their way to end each other's careers. Certainly in MMA no one has ever bitten someone's ear off during a fight.

[BrimstoneAshe]

06:06 PM on 06/30/2010

"modern may gladiatorial events" followed by a remark of a decline in society is an interesting connection. Gladiatorial events have been around.... well since the gladiators. So by your logic it would seem society has been in decline for a VERY long time.

[M A Ross]

10:02 AM on 07/01/2010

I think you missed the sarcasm...

(insert rolling eyes here)

OH! there it is...