On Saturday night at the Total Extreme Fighting event in Dublin, Ireland, 28-year-old Joao Carvalho went into battle against Charlie Ward. It was expected to be another fight for Carvalho: Win, collect his paycheck, head home.
Ward won the fight by third-round TKO. Losing is OK. Fighters lose. But Carvalho lost something no one could have imagined — his life.
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The fight was a hard-hitting fight with Carvalho taking a heavy amount of punishment. Total Extreme Officials stated Carvalho was checked by medical personnael after each round. The Portuguese welterweight told them after the fight that he didn't have a headache, wasn't tired and didn't have any pain. After the fight ended, Carvalho was taken to Beaumont Hospital where he had emergency brain surgery on Saturday. He was pronounced dead Monday.
That, of course, has brought on the question: Is mixed martial arts unsafe?
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was sitting cageside — he's a teammate of Ward — and released a statement on his Facebook page on Carvalho's passing and the risk fighters take everytime they enter into a fight.
In the 22-plus years MMA has been around there have been four recorded deaths in sanctioned fight cards across the world. Fighters know what they are getting into and the risks that go with it. They put all of those risks aside because fighters want to be the best at what they do and reap the rewards that can be beneficial to them and their families. McGregor is right, no one wants to see them get hurt inside the cage or ring. It is an athletic competition and spectators and other competitors want to see who the superior athlete is.
You do have people who believe MMA is barbaric and should be outlawed. Complaints range from too many punches to the head which can lead to concussions or death (in this case). There also are enormous amounts of blood spilled and limbs broken. Those concerns are why it took 19 years for the state of New York to once again regulate the sport.
While four deaths are four deaths too many, the UFC is being proactive on the issue of brain damage. In February, the MMA leader announced a five-year extension of its partnership with Cleveland Clinic, and its support of the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study.
We have to remember we can hurt ourselves getting out of bed, going for a walk or driving a car. Does it mean we should stop doing those things because of what could happen?
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, The Fight Club Chicago, and subscribe on iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
