In Defense of the Josh Koscheck Stoppage

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Now, I don't normally like to cover the same exact topic as one of our other staff members here, especially only one or two posts after theirs but I was planning on writing this before I even read Kid Nate's piece but I had to run out to see my chiropractor (The awesome Dr. Tara Scharich, Inner Balance Chiropractic - Saint Joseph, MI  /shoutout)  and as I have the exact opposite viewpoint (as well as a different way of looking at the issue) as him I decided to go ahead with my post.  Now...on to the article!

I read Jordan Breen's article yesterday and was extremely disappointed by the following line:

It may sound ridiculous, but a couple of perfunctory hammerfists aren't about to jeopardize any fighter’s health.

Replays of the Josh Koscheck fight show that he was unconscious following the uppercut and was "brought to" by his head bouncing off the ground as he landed.  As far as I'm concerned there is no arguing the fact that he was out prior to hitting the ground.  Even as he is "recovering" while on his back his left leg is slightly quivering as his brain is trying to get back on track.

The quivering leg (and more importantly the fact that he went out completely to begin with) is a sign of the failure in neurotransmission that is a part of being knocked out and concussed.  When you are knocked out or concussed your brain undergoes trauma which does include the failure of your brain to be able to transmit messages and your brain does not immediately go back to full function in that split second that you regain consciousness.  Furthermore, after undergoing such trauma the victim can undergo changes in blood flow to the brain which can result in increased pressure on the brain.  Striking the head of someone who is undergoing an increase of pressure on the brain can result in considerable brain damage and potentially even death.

In March of last year Canadian researchers found that blows to the head that knock someone unconscious can result in the loss of brain tissue:

Levine studied brain scans taken from 69 traumatic brain injury patients whose head injuries ranged from mild to moderate or severe. The researchers used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging or MRI to study changes in brain volume a year after the injury.

They ran a computer analysis of these images and found that even patients with mild brain injuries with no apparent scarring had less brain volume.

"When you have a blow to the head, it causes a neurochemical reaction in the brain cells that lead to cell death," Levine said in a telephone interview. "The more cells that die, the less tissue you have."

Knowing these facts and thinking that we need to see someone who was just hit in a way that caused him to lose consciousness, even for just a second, take more punches to the head to be able to get a more desirable ending to a sporting event seems relatively selfish to me.  Obviously injury, especially concussions and knockouts, are an accepted risk of the sport.  But the fact that fights are stopped on the basis of fighter safety has always been something that supporters of MMA have pointed to as a reason that our sport is safer than boxing where a guy who gets rocked and knocked down is given time to recover.

The truth is, the fan in me does like to see more definitive endings to fights than we got with Paulo Thiago vs. Josh Koscheck and like anyone else I get hugely excited by fights where one guy seems out but survives and comes back to make it a fight again.  But there needs to be an ability for us to separate the fan from the guy who realizes that for a guy to be knocked out, even for a split second, he has undergone legitimate brain trauma.  And asking for a "couple of perfunctory hammerfists" is basically begging for tragedy.

Update:  The more I think about hitting a guy after he is unconscious the more I am reminded of Emile Griffith vs. Benny Paret III, in which Griffith knocked Paret out but Benny was held up by the ropes and Griffith unloaded on him with a barage of unanswered shots.  Paret died slightly over a week after this happened.  So yeah, the idea of needing to see "a couple shots" after a guy goes out?  Not for me.  Go watch Ring of Fire though, it is a great documentary that tells the story of Emile Griffith and honestly will break your heart.




So fellas what do you's think was the fight stopped to early?

[Thin Lizzy]

I've always been of the opinion that it's better to stop the fight one punch too soon than one punch too late.

The last thing the sport needs is a serious injury or a death in the ring.

If there's controvery about the stoppage, you can always have a rematch.

[gracie bjj]

im a firm believer in the fighters safety before anything,alot of these fighters count on the ref to be there for them if they do get knocked out,so the other guy cant continue to break limbs or create trauma to the downed man.

i know alot of you cornered fighters before,i have cornered afew in my time and they just happened to be my best friends,i had the towel in my hand and told my friend,if your getting hurt real bad im going to throw the towel in regardless if you get pissed at me after the fight or not.my one buddy got caught bad and was clearly out,i threw in the towel at about the same time the ref jumped on him to stop and protect him from further damage.he was pissed at me cause someone told him after the fight i threw the towel in,but after we got home we watched the tape and he said,thank you bro,i was totally out.

alot of spectators dont realize that alot of times fighters are in denial about being ko,d or that they tapped out,how many times have you guys seen a fighter completely out whether on his feet or on the ground and the ref saves his ass,then the fighter recovers alittle bit  5 seconds later only to argue with the ref that he wasnt out?

like thin lizzy said,we dont need no deaths or maimings in our sport cause man oh man,the press would have a field day.like thin lizzy said,i rather the ref stop it alittle early then alittle late and have something really bad happen,these guys have kids and families like us that love them and the guys families are counting on the ref to protect thier dad or husband if hes in danger of getting hurt real bad while hes unconscious from a kick or punch.

thats why im not to hard on the refs,they make mistakes sometimes like all of us, ill admit afew times the ref stopped fights way to early but it happens in every sport,thats why football had to go to the instant replay tape cause no ones perfect

[chixlegs]

I think the whole controversy could have and should have been avoided if the guy he was fighting had "finished" properly.  He just stopped fighting.  He should have pounced on Josh and popped him a couple more times and the stoppage would have been uncontested. 

I was surprised how non-chalant he was.  That was a HUGE upset and that guy should have been making damn sure it was over b/c up until that point it looked like he was going to get knocked  the fuck out by Koscheck.

[WeightPSHR]

Two rules of uncertainty in MMA that a fighter needs to avoid:

1) Never get dropped by any type of strike. Once you drop, you give the ref all the right to stop the fight.

2) If you want a fair win, end the fight. Never give it to the judges.

[gracie bjj]

I think the whole controversy could have and should have been avoided if the guy he was fighting had "finished" properly.  He just stopped fighting.  He should have pounced on Josh and popped him a couple more times and the stoppage would have been uncontested. 

I was surprised how non-chalant he was.  That was a HUGE upset and that guy should have been making damn sure it was over b/c up until that point it looked like he was going to get knocked  the fuck out by Koscheck.

couldnt have said it better myself,in a big way its thiagos fault for not putting that exclamation on koscheck ass and pounced on him and finished it to where josh was still laying on the canvas not knowing wtf just happened,thiago couldve,shouldve,wouldve but for reasons beyond me didnt

[gracie bjj]

Two rules of uncertainty in MMA that a fighter needs to avoid:

1) Never get dropped by any type of strike. Once you drop, you give the ref all the right to stop the fight.

2) If you want a fair win, end the fight. Never give it to the judges.

i agree,but i really dont think any fighter wants to get knocked on his ass by a strike,but i do agree that trying to and finishing the fight if possible is always the best idea,matt hammill vs micheal bisping is a great example of your quote,hamill was kicking bispings ass the whole fight and they give the win to bisping,your absolutly right about keeping it out of the judges hands if possible