By: Amy Li

Youth Cage Fighting has grown in popularity over the last decade. This sport is banned everywhere in the U.S. except for Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. The reason why it’s banned in 44 States is pretty clear: It isn’t safe.

MMA stands for Mixed Martial arts, and according to an article written by the Guardian, “How many more young people must die before mixed martial arts is banned?”, cage fighting involves knocking the opponent out cold on the head using kicks and punches. This obviously poses a safety concern, as a child could severely damage another’s head, causing serious consequences. The article mentions that this isn’t just a concern — someone already died of brain injury before, during a match in Ireland. The article, “The death of MMA fighter Joao Carvalho: News and Updates,” details how Joao Carvalho died on April 11, 2016, after a match with Charlie Ward. After a match, Carvalho was rushed to Beaumont Hospital due to feeling unwell, and he was diagnosed with a brain bleed. The treatment was not enough to save him, and so the 28-year-old lost his life to cage fighting.

According to the Guardian, evidence backed by the BMA (British Medical Association) shows that brain injuries are due to the “cumulative effect of repeated blows in the head,” and all MMA fighters suffer from it. And if Youth MMA is played the same way, the injuries can drastically change a child’s brain development later. According to NCBI, “after significant injury, where deficits in attention, processing speed, and executive function are common, the process of cognitive development may be disrupted, with the acquisition of new knowledge being more challenging for children with TBI than for peers.”

Youth MMA cage fighting should be banned from all U.S. states, so there won’t be any more accidents that can ultimately lead to brain development disruption, and even worse, death.