By definition, mixed martial artists are generally considered tough. However, there are situations where they are too tough for their own good. The UFC is a place where fighters will do whatever it takes to make sure they step into the Octagon on fight night. Perhaps more troubling is the idea that 18 main or co-main events to date have gone up in smoke because of injury, which has forced many fighters to push through injuries in order to avoid the ire of the fans.
This was the case with UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.
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The 26-year-old has already been pulled from two fights in 2018 and wasn’t interested in completing the trifecta with his scheduled title defense against Brian Ortega that was scheduled for UFC 226 this weekend. But something clearly wasn’t right with the Hawaiian heading into fight week. On the July 4 edition of "UFC Tonight," Michael Bisping noticed Holloway’s slurred speech and called the champion out on it.
Come to find out, Holloway was suffering from a concussion and was subsequently pulled for the co-main event three days before UFC 226. Fans and the media questioned how long Holloway had been dealing with concussion symptoms and why it took so long for his team to decide that he shouldn’t step into the Octagon on Saturday night. But knowing Holloway, one could speculate that the champion wouldn’t willingly back out of this fight, no matter how bad his condition.
Sporting News spoke to several fighters from this weekend’s card to get their take on the situation, how they have dealt with injuries heading into a fight and why Holloway’s situation was especially frightening.
Every fighter on the card mentioned that injuries are simply part of the game and they rarely, if ever, step into the Octagon at 100 percent.
“If you are going into a fight 100 percent, you probably didn’t train hard enough,” UFC lightweight Drakkar Klose said. “You should always have some type of injury.”
The 30-year-old, who faces Lando Vannata on the Fox Sports 1 prelims, was coy about the injuries that he’s dealt with over the course of his career, but suggested that pulling out of a fight because of an injury had never crossed his mind. However, when the conversation shifted to Holloway’s concussion, Klose’s tone changed.
“If there’s something with your brain, pull out of the fight,” he said. “But if you can still walk around on it, you might as well fight. Once your adrenaline starts pumping, you’re not going to feel it. But the brain is different. Don’t fight.”
Welterweight Curtis Millender took Klose’s statement a step further and suggested that it was "irresponsible" for Holloway and his team to even consider fighting with a concussion.
“The fans and Ortega are now missing out," he said. "If they said something earlier, maybe they could have had time to find a replacement for an interim title.”
The tough guy syndrome is something that many mixed martial artists deal with. The more brutal the fight, the more the fans cheer. The moment that a fighter pulls out of a fight, they are showered with criticism. As a result, fighters simply don’t look out for their own well-being and put their lives at risk to avoid the backlash on social media.
“I’m not surprised he waited this long to remove himself from the Ortega fight because he had to pull out of the last fight,” said former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. “That’s the media and fans that got to him and his pride that thought he had to do it.”
Unlike the other fighters Sporting News spoke with, Pettis has dealt with concussion symptoms in the past and can relate to what Holloway was going through. Although he was far enough out from a fight that he didn’t have to worry about being able to compete, Pettis said it's unlike any other injury that he’s dealt with.
“There’s nothing you can do or take to make it heal faster,” he said. “You just have to take some time off, sit in a dark room and allow your brain to relax.”
Not only is there no medicine that can relieve the symptoms, but adrenaline can’t make your body ignore the fact that your brain isn’t right. Unlike an injured rib, hand or leg, a concussion isn't something a fighter can power through. Fortunately, Holloway's team was able to address the situation before he put himself in serious danger against Ortega on Saturday night.
“When it comes to the brain, you don’t play around,” UFC bantamweight Rob Font said. “A broken hand or foot you can still fight, but the brain? Stop. Go home to the kids and get it together. Take your time and come back when you’re ready.”
Unfortunately, there is a cynical segment of fans that doesn't care why fighters pull out. That pressure has affected how fighters deal with their injuries and whether they’ll compete.
In the case of UFC middleweight Uriah Hall, he pushed himself to the brink of death to satisfy the fans.
In January, The Ultimate Fighter 17 competitor fainted before weighing in and was forced out of a fight with Vitor Belfort. He later said that he may have suffered a slight heart attack and a mini-seizure due to a bad weight cut. Although he admits that his diet had much to do with his brutal cut, the 33-year-old's health scare mattered very little to fans, who showered his social media with vitriolic comments.
“It’s sad that fans don’t understand what we go through to entertain them,” Hall said while acknowledging Holloway’s health scare. “I get it, because they are looking forward to these fights. But I also know that when I almost died, fans called me a piece of s—t for pulling out of the fight. Really? My health was on the line. But they don’t care.”
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Between the always controversial issue of weight cutting and the very real possibility of mixed martial artists having CTE once they hang up the gloves, fighters have more to worry about than just their opponent. Hopefully, we get to a place where fighters and their teams know when to pull the plug on a fight before a minor health issue becomes something major.
“We’re always hurt,” said Max Griffin, Millender’s opponent. “I’ve been in fights where I couldn’t see, but that didn’t stop me. I’ll always tell you that I’m good. No matter what.”
With the UFC dealing with a rash of fighters being forced out of competition during fight week, perhaps the mentality will change and fighters will feel comfortable looking out for their health. However, the fact that fighters aren't paid when being benched because of injury is the primary reason that competitors refuse to acknowledge an injury publicly. Instead, they will push through and put their lives at risk to get paid. Perhaps the UFC needs to look into compensating fighters for their efforts leading up to a fight. Injuries are part of the game, but imagine if Holloway was allowed to compete with those symptoms. The result could be tragic.
"That’s what is scary about this," Millender said. "(Fighting) is our life and how we take care of our families. But I don't want to die doing this."
