It is not uncommon in the sport of MMA for fighters to pick
up injuries whilst training, in fact it is impossible not to acquire the
occasional niggle. Unfortunately, as is the nature of the sport, the injury is
sometimes debilitating and the fighter is forced to withdraw from training for
a period of time. If said athlete is already scheduled to fight, this
invariably results in the fight having to be cancelled, which is one of the
most disappointing outcomes for MMA fans and fighters alike.
With the recent surge that MMA has experienced in South
Africa, a huge amount of hype has been created around major MMA events. This
has been strengthened by the much larger marketing budgets which are used to
promote key fights to the public. Fighters too are becoming more celebrated and
fans wait patiently to see their favourites step into the cage. This in turn
creates additional expectation and the intensifies the feeling of disappointment
when local fights are cancelled.
It seems to me that fight cancellations due to injury seem
to happen more frequently in the South African MMA scene, than abroad. Almost
every event has a high profile fight or two pulled due to injury and while this
is disappointing it is also a little concerning.
I have pondered and discussed this point at length and have
managed to identify a few possible causes of this, most of which I attribute to
the sport being so young in South Africa. Here are my deductions:
Not all fighters are completely professional
Many fighters are only semi-pro, often holding day jobs to
stay afloat. This not only reduces training and more importantly resting time,
but this lack of time and finance often inhibits them further in terms of the
necessary nutrition, supplementation and professional medical assistance
(Physiotherapy etc.)
Many fighters are fighting too often
The problem with a young sport is that there are often not
enough participants, events, enthusiasts or sponsors. This invariably means
that many professionals are forced to fight more frequently to make ends meet
or to fulfil contractual obligations. Fighting camps are tedious on the body
and mind and fighting too often, or fighting again too soon, can increase the
chance of injury.
Some fighters are training for fights together
Fight camps should be run professionally. High level
combatants should have an array of “expendable” training partners with whom to
train, the focus remaining solely on the soon to be competing athlete. Our
current climate leads to competing fighters sparring together on an ongoing
basis to ready for fights, as both fighters are focussing on themselves these
sparring sessions are in many ways tantamount to stepping into the cage and can
increase the chance of injuries
Dissemination of Knowledge
Many individuals are necessary in the preparation of fighter.
These include but are not limited to technical coaches, conditioning coaches, training partners, physiotherapists and dieticians. All of these
facets need to be properly accounted for individually and synergistically for a
fighter to be at his peak on fight night. A young community lacks experience in many of
these areas, and while certain South African fight teams have got a number of
these elements in place, most do not have a complete team operating at the
highest level.
How address this in South African MMA?
The evolution Mixed Martial Arts in SouthAfrica cannot be rushed. We have gone a long way down the road in a short period,
and in time as the sport grows organically, we will begin to see the necessary
changes take place to address these issues. While it will not eradicate
injuries and fight cancellations in the future, it may go a long way to
reducing their frequency and the catastrophic effects that such announcements
bring.
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