Is Boxing More Dangerous Than MMA? | Safety Analysis

Boxing vs MMA - Safety Comparison

Fatality Rate: The fatality rate in boxing is far higher than in MMA and that can be easily explained. Boxing is a sport that solely involves punching, so the damage is concentrated on landing shots to body and head to beat or knock out the opponent. MMA involves a mixture of kicks and punches, as well as wrestling and holds, which reduces the amount of trauma to head,  which is the most damaging of all blows.

Injury Rates: Boxers were significantly more likely not to experience injury (49.8% vs 59.4%, P < 0.001), whereas MMA fighters were significantly more likely to experience 1 injury (typically contusion/bruising, P < 0.001). Boxers were more likely to experience loss of consciousness (7.1% vs 4.2%, P = 0.01) and serious eye injury (1.1% vs 0.3%, P = 0.02). MMA sustains higher injuries than boxing due to the use of the whole body, so there is a greater area under attack. For example, Conor McGregor broke his leg in his 2016 rematch with Dustin Poirier, which is an injury that is very rare in boxing. The stats clearly show that MMA sports incur more injuries, but boxing has a higher loss of consciousness and eye injury, proving the sport’s damage is concentrated to head, whereas MMA involves the whole body.

Concussion Risk: Boxing has a higher concussion risk due to the increased volume of attacks to the head. According to the National Library of Medicine, boxers were more likely to experience loss of consciousness (7.1% vs 4.2%, P = 0.01) and serious eye injury (1.1% vs 0.3%, P = 0.02). The mean number of concussions per minute of fight time was 0.061 (0.047 for boxers and 0.085 for MMA.

Chronic Brain Injuries: The likelihood of boxers sustaining chronic brain injury is double that of MMA. Again, the concentration and higher volume of head shots is the direct cause for this. Boxers training their entire career to deliver punches only means that they are far more skilled in this discipline, so the potency and accuracy they possess is greater than MMA fighters, which results in more damaging head shots.

Protective Gear: Boxing gloves provide better protection than the smaller mitts used in MMA, however this results in sustained damage over longer periods of time for boxers, which greater increases the damage done to brain.

Match Duration: MMA fights consist of five-minute rounds, which actually creates less activity over the longer duration. A three-minute round in boxing will see a higher number of punches thrown. A boxing round, on average, will see approximately 65 punches thrown, compared to just 18-24 in MMA.

Regulations: The regulations in place in modern combat sports is the reason why fatalities are fewer, thankfully. In 1920, when there is a boom in global boxing, there were 233 deaths over the eventful decade. Fast-forward to the last decade and there were 32 deaths between 2010-2019, according to the Association of Ringside Physicians.

Notable Boxing Fights Ending with a Fatality

Duk-koo Kim vs Ray Mancini – South Korean boxer Duk-koo Kim sadly died five days after being stopped by WBA World lightweight champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini in November 1982. His death sparked the need for a change in the number of championship rounds to prevent further tragedies.

Jimmy Doyle vs Sugar Ray Robinson – Perhaps one of the most famed fights on this lamentable list for its background story. The reigning undisputed welterweight champion, Robinson had a dream the night before that he killed his opponent in the ring. He was so shaken by the vision that he refused to fight, but a Catholic priest was brought in to bless the fighters and pray for their safety, but sadly the premonition came true when Sugar Ray killed him with a single left hook to the head in round eight. Doyle’s reason for boxing was to buy his mum a house, so Sugar Ray donated his next four fight purses to Jimmy’s mum to make his dream come true. 

Scott Westgarth vs Dec Spelman – This is particularly sad because it was so recent, in 2018, which proves that the sport is still so dangerous even after centuries of rules put in place for safety. In confliction with most of the fights involving a fatality, Sheffield’s Scott Westgarth was the victor in his final fight, but collapsed suddenly after defeating Dec Spelman on points in a 10-round light-heavyweight title eliminator.

It was the biggest win of his career and was considered the underdog going into the contest in Doncaster. He took part in the post-fight interview and was coherent and in good spirits until he began to feel unwell. He even wanted to walk to the ambulance instead of being stretchered out of the venue, then sadly died from a blood clot on the brain.

Sherif Lawal vs Malam Varela – This tragedy only took place on May 12, 2024. What’s even more heartbreaking is that London’s Lawal, 29, was making his professional boxing debut that fateful night in Harrow. After falling face forwards following a right hand to the temple, referee Lee Every immediately ceased his count and urged the medics to come straight in, where they instantly performed CPR. The cause of death was a cardiac arrest.

Other notable fights including fatalities:

Frankie Campbell vs Max Baer, August 1930

Davey Moore vs Sugar Ramos, March 1963

Young Ali vs Barry McGuigan, June 1982

James Murray vs Drew Docherty, October 1995

Roman Simakov vs Sergey Kovalev, December 2011

Mike Towell vs Dale Evans, September 2016

Maxim Dadashev vs Subriel Matias, July 2019

Patrick Day vs Charles Conwell, October 2019

Notable MMA Fights Ending with a Fatality

Sam Vazquez vs Vince Libardi – In October 2007, Sam Vasquez sadly became the first mixed martial artist in America to following injuries sustained in an MMA bout.

The 35-year-old was knocked out in the third round of their fight in Houston, Texas. Sam was diagnosed with a subdural haemorrhage due to a burst blood vessel and overflow of blood exerting pressure on his brain. Despite urgent medical attention, Sam slipped into a coma before dying on November 30, 2007, leaving behind a wife and seven-year-old son.

Michael Kirkham vs Carlos Iraburo – From Illinois, Michael Kirkham had a very slender frame and would have stood out for the way he looked in any combat sport. On June 26, in South Carolina, Kirkham was stopped in just 41 seconds after he was bombarded by his opponent. He fell unconsius afterwards and died two days later. His father believed the damage had been done prior in his last bout which saw his opponent warned for hitting around the back of the head. An authority on combat sports medicine, Dr. Joe Estwanik speculated that it could have been “second impact syndrome” that led to his death.

Tyrone Mims vs Blake Poore – On August 11, 2012, Tyrone Mims was stopped by Blake Poore in Mount Pleasant. Mims was coherent and smiling following the stoppage loss, until he was back in the dressing room and began rambling and breathing heavily. He was rushed to hospital but died just an hour after arrival. It’s believed his possible underlying heart problems were undetectable, but the likeable lad, nicknamed “Teesta”, sadly left five young children behind.

Other notable fatalities in MMA:

Booto Guylain

Donshay White

Rondel Clark

Mateus Fernandes

Justin Thornton

Alfredo Castro Herrera

Douglas Dedge

Mike Mittelmeier

Dustin Jenson

Felix Pablo Elochukwu

Ramin Zeynalov

Jameston Lee-Yaw

Joao Carvalho

Is MMA Safer Than Boxing?

Boxing and MMA are both very dangerous, deleterious sports, but the numbers clearly show that the boxing fatality rate is significantly higher than in MMA. 

However, MMA fighters experience more minor contusion/bruising injuries. Boxers are more likely to experience serious injury such as concussion/head trauma involving loss of consciousness or eye injury such as retinal detachment, due to the concentration and higher volume of head shots.