THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2007
NEWS
5A
FIGHT (CONTINUED FROM 4A)
fighting "is a sport where violence is get them rolling in that direction"
involved, but it's not a street fight."
He said, the referee was con- BLOOD IS
stantly involved
stantly involved and could halt the fight whenever a fighter risked serious injury.
The potential for injuries doesn't faze Sears, whose body already bears the evidence of past battles: cauliflower ears formed by swol
Gena Bezigue, an employee of American Medical Response and one of two emergency medical technicians working Sears' fight, said her services weren't needed unless fighters were seriously hurt.
len cartilage and a scar below his mouth where his own tooth pierced the flesh.
"I don't like it when they drop them on their heads," Bezingue said. All fighters probably suffer from head injuries but leave them untreated, she noted.
"These are tough guys. They don't want to be babied," she said.
Head injuries like the concussions Bezingue worries about are common in a sport where fighters endure multiple blows to the cranium. One doctor at the University of Kansas Hospital said MMA fights can "have some serious consequences."
MAY CAUSE INJURY
CAUTION:
Y CAUSE INJURY
Michael Moncurce, associate professor of surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center and director of trauma at the Hospital, said repeated trauma to the brain can scatter a person's concentration and give them anger and behavioral issues. Head trauma injuries like minor concussions or head bleeds can add up to major health issues over the years, he said.
"If someone were to have a concussion before they fully recover and be subject to an additional severe concussion, or worse, a bleed to the brain, its life-threatening" he said.
So far, only one MMA fighter has met his death during a match. It happened in 1998 during a match in Ukraine where American fighter Douglas Dedge took multiple blows to the head from Yeygeni Zoltarev and died of severe brain injuries.
Another MMA fighter, a KU student named Matthew Jaeger, was charged last week with severely beating his ex-girlfriend, who was still hospitalized after having undergone two undisclosed surgeries. The clerk of the Douglas County District Court stated that Jaeger's bond was set at $850,000.
Exposure to bone-crushing, concussion-causing cage fights has both popularized the sport and energized critics who find harm in just watching it. Viewing such violent programs could lead to aggressive behavior, the Federal Communications Commission suggested earlier this year.
Press accounts of the incident focused on Jaeger's training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which Riley, a teacher of the martial art, said was unfair and misleading. "It's a shame that it was even involved in the news story. I just don't see the connection," said Riley, who explained that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was for self-improvement and self-defense rather than aggression toward others.
In its report on violence in the media, the FCC found that "there is deep concern among many American parents and health professionals regarding harm from viewing violence in media. We also agree with the views of the Surgeon General that there is strong evidence that exposure to violence in the media can increase aggressive behavior in children, at least in the short term."
KIDS SOAK UP THE VIOLENCE
"It not going to make everybody who watches it violent," he said. "Most people won't go and beat someone up. If you have someone who is violent in the first place, it can
Eric Vernberg, professor in the clinical child psychology program at the University of Kansas, warns that children can become frightened or angry when they view graphic violence in the media, including Ultimate Fighting Championships on cable channels like the Spike network.
Vernberg, who researched how children with violent histories can become provoked when they view violence in the media, said programs that glamorize extreme violence could provide a model for aggressive behavior and show how a dominant person can control somebody else.
BLOOD ISN'T A NECESSITY
Nate Mass, Leawood senior, is one fan who regularly watches violent cage fights on television, YouTube or downloaded to a computer. His computer hard drive is nearly half full of MMA videos.
Mass called cage fighters modern-day
and their 'hobby sport an outlet from which to vent rage.
He's picky about which fights he watches. He doesn't like the bloody mayhem of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but prefers a fight with strategy, such as Pride Fighting Championship, a Japan-based MMA league.
"I don't really like it when it's bloody," Mass said. "After a few rounds, some UFC guys look like boated raccoons."
Mass and other local MMA fans had their first chance to attend a live cage fight in Lawrence at Coyote's in September. Cowboy murals lined the wall, their orange, green and yellow paint illuminated by black lights. The sell-out crowd of about 1,000 formed a line a football field in length to buy tickets that cost at least $20 each.
Mark "The Wolverine" Sears, one of the winners that evenning, insisted that cage fight fans weren't there to see rage, hysterical ferocity or blood. The three five-minute rounds are a respectful violence, he explained, "a really intense game that involves getting kicked in the face."
Edited by Trevan McGee
Two cage fighters struggle on the ground of the oatragate at the Ararat Shrine Temple in Kansas City, Mo. Matches are split into three five-minute rounds, governed by a referee and a almostly list of rules. The cameraman later uploaded this and other flights to YouTube.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAS
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