Children as young as 8 years old are participating in MMA fighting competitions in Russia that include several weight classes for fighters under the age of 18. MMA is considered one of the most dangerous televised sports because unlike sports like boxing or taekwondo that are based on points, MMA fights aim for knockouts and submissions. Starting a dangerous sport like MMA at a young age guarantees serious injuries later in life, most commonly brain damage.

1. SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Boys fighting in MMA world youth
championships captured in brutal set of
photos
Source:The Sun
Thisstory isabout a league of juniorMMA fightinginRussiawhichincludesseveral sovietunion’sall
participatingin9 differentweightclasses.Allthe fightersare under18 and thishas sparked
controversy.Andasa martial artistand somebodywho’s obviouslyveryinterestedinsuchsubject,I
can’t helpbutagree withthose of the cautiousapproach.The headof the Chechnyaregion,Ramzan
Kadyrov,evenallowedhis10-year-oldsontojoina similar,televisedeventwhere childrenasyoung
as 8 were fighting.
The reasonI disagree withthisisbecause MMA isby far one of the mostdangerous-televisedsports
on the planet.It’sfardifferentfromothermartial-artrelatedsports.Thisisbecause if we compare it
to thingslike BoxingandTaekwondoare basedonpointsanda knockout isn’tneededforawin.
Some fightersevendedicate theirstylestooutlastingthe otherandprefertowinbyway of decision.
Andin Taekwondo,knockoutsare veryrare andare causedmore so by accidentsthanintentional
attacks as it’sa much more pointbasedsystemwhere judgesanalyse bothfightersanddecide which
has bettertechnique.However,MMA ismuch more dangerousandwhile the paddingmayhelp
somewhat,it’smostlyjustforshow.Startingadangeroussportlike MMA soearlyin one’slife
guaranteesthatthey’ll sustainveryseriousinjurieslaterinlife,mostcommonlybraindamage.