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This topic of choice is to determine which sport has a bigger impact on the physical health of fighters. Many people think that MMA is more dangerous than boxing simply because of the allowed knees, elbows, kicks, slams, and chokes, and because there is no knockdown, but followed up strikes on the ground until the fight is stopped. This link shows the pros and cons between the two sports and why one is more dangerous than the other.

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Combat sports and martial arts are generally dangerous. Or, at least, they are generally more dangerous than some other sports, like tennis or golf. Still, some combat sports are notoriously perceived as extremely dangerous (which is why they are illegal in some parts of the world), while others are considered to be dangerous, but in such a degree. Perceived as one of the most dangerous, MMA is notoriously known for its brutality, especially when compared to boxing, a sport that is held in high regard, despite having a large number of injuries and fatalities. When it comes to MMA and boxing, a quick, but not definitive answer can be given.
When it comes to training sessions, more injuries occur in MMA. On the other hand, when it comes to fighting, more injuries occur in boxing. So, it is safe to say that for amateurs, boxing is safer than MMA. But, if going professional, boxing is far more dangerous in the long run.
But, that was a really simplified answer, and there are a few more factors we should consider. In today's article, we'll be discussing the numbers and statistics, so you can see for yourselves whether MMA is truly more dangerous than boxing.

When discussing the danger of combat sports, we cannot rely on mere perception. Certainly, there's a lot more blood in boxing and MMA than in karate or judo, but you cannot state that the formers are more dangerous than the latter by just observing and pondering. To be able to give a precise conclusion, you have to have some numbers and the numbers we're going to talk about today are the injury and fatality rates.

The injury rate shows us how often serious injuries occur based on the number of injuries compared to the number of matches. The same goes for fatality rates, except that this number shows the number of deaths and not injuries. So, what are the numbers?

Injury Rates in MMA and Boxing

There have been several scientific and peer-review studies about the injury rates in MMA and professional boxing. Some of them are older, some of them newer, but the results, despite varying, are not that much different. The percentage is not that off (+/- 5%). Before we continue, we have to state that the general rate for both MMA and boxing is around 20% per 100 fighters.

Some other sports (like snowboarding or field hockey) have substantially larger rates, so we can already deduce that despite all the contact, combat sports aren't the most dangerous thing you can do in life.

An interesting thing about the injury rates is that in both MMA and boxing, most injuries happen during training sessions and not during fights. Boxing has a ratio of 70:30, while MMA's ratio is 78:22, meaning that MMA fights are generally safer than boxing matches. The most dangerous is wrestling, whose rating is 63:37.

% of injuries that occur in training

% of injuries that occur during fight

So, what are the exact numbers? A study made in 2017 calculated that the general injury rate for MMA matches ranges from 22.9 to 28.6, depending on a lot of different factors. The study also lists the injuries by type and region affected, but these numbers aren't that important for this article. As for boxing, studies have shown that the rates range from 17.1 to 23.6.

What do these numbers tell us? Well, for one - the general injury rates for boxing and MMA aren't that horrible. Secondly, the fact that most injuries tend to happen during training sessions is somewhat of a consolation, although also a warning sign that fighters should pay more attention to their health during training. Finally, it tells us something we've intuitively known - that MMA is more dangerous than boxing, when injuries are concerned.

Although the numbers aren't that different and they're all in the same range, MMA is a tad more dangerous, although professional MMA fights have a smaller percentage of injuries than professional boxing matches.

The latter piece of data is extremely important when it comes to interpreting fatality rates, which is something we are going to discuss in the paragraphs that follow. To conclude, you can expect injuries if you're an MMA fighter or boxer, but the numbers aren't that worrying and you shouldn't be afraid of people telling you you're going to get badly hurt. As the numbers show, people tend to exaggerate when the safety of combat sports is concerned.

Fatality Rates in Boxing and MMA

As for the fatality rates, MMA has a surprisingly low fatality rate compared to the number of potentially fatal moves allowed in the sport and the injury rate in MMA (see above). We are, of course, talking about officially sanctioned MMA events, not underground matches, but from 2007, when the first MMA-related death was recorded, until today - there have been only seven recorded cases of death in MMA.

The first one was that of Sam Vasquez, who collapsed and died on November 30, 2007, after being knocked out by his opponent, Vince Libardi. The most recent case was that of Mateus Fernandes, who died several hours after a sanctioned amateur match in Brazil, on March 30, 2019. But, even if you add the nine deaths from unsanctioned fights, the number is still very, very low. For more information on this topic, read our article.

If you compare these numbers with boxing, which has had 923 cases of fatal injuries in a 118-year period (1890-2007), you will see that MMA would have an incredibly small number of deaths for the same period of time.

In this case, we calculated the average death rate of MMA for a 12-year period (2007-2019), which was 0.58 deaths per year and used that number do determine that if such a rate was applied to a 118-year period, there would have been less than 70 deaths in total in MMA, which is substantially lower than the death toll of boxing matches.

Deaths RELATIVE to 118-year period

Deaths per year RELATIVE to 118-year period

For comparison, boxing has a ratio of 7.82 deaths per year, based on the numbers we mentioned, a number 13.4 times higher than the same number in MMA matches. Even if we just took the known boxing deaths in the same 12-year period (2007-2019), there have been 21 deaths in total, which is three times more than in MMA for the same period of time.
So, to answer your question - is MMA so dangerous it should be illegal? It is not and the numbers show it, but it's all a matter of perception and that perception has determined and still determines the legal status of MMA fights in the world.

And that's it for now. Keep checking to see our new content and more on the topic of martial arts.

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Boxing Vs MMA Safety: Which Is More Dangerous?

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Or, at least, they are generally more dangerous than some other sports, like tennis or golf. Some other sports (like snowboarding or field hockey) have substantially larger rates, so we can already deduce that despite all the contact, combat sports aren't the most dangerous thing you can do in life.

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This topic is to prove why capital punishment should stay in our legal judicial system. The article states the pros and cons of capital punishment, which leaves us, the viewers, to decide if abolishing or keeping capital punishment is the right thing to do.

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Capital punishment is still enforced in many countries, such as the USA and China. We discuss the pros and cons of death penalty and whether it should be abolished. If you care about this issue, leave your comments and share the debate.
Harsh punishments

Capital punishment is at the centre of one of the most significant moral debates in modern societies. Theorists and proponents of, both, utilitarian and retributive justice have historically discussed whether it is morally acceptable for the state to execute people, and if so under what circumstances. Although the death penalty has been abolished, either by law or practice, by more than 140 countries, it is still used in a big part of the world. According to Amnesty international, the number of countries implementing executions each year over the last couple of years is 22.

China has been consistently the country with the most executions and the USA is among the five top executioners. Murder and drug-trafficking are the most common crimes punishable by death, although in some countries adultery, witchcraft, or political activism can also incur capital punishment. Lethal injections, hanging, shooting, and electrocutions are some of the most common methods used for the death penalty.

Death penalty pros and cons

One of the most common justifications for the death penalty in the Western world is that it acts as a deterrent of capital crimes, as the fear of death and the horror of the execution might prevent people from committing serious crimes.

It is also considered to be the appropriate retribution and deserved punishment for really horrific crimes. Criminals who commit capital crimes have reached a point where rehabilitation is impossible and for some life in prison might increase criminal behaviour. The death penalty, therefore, prevents crimes for recurring and protects society.

Further moral arguments suggest that capital punishment provides closure for the families of the victims and that punishment should fit the crime in order for justice to be served.

Finally, there are practical arguments put forward. The death penalty helps ease overpopulation in prisons and it ensures that less tax payers' money is spent for the maintenance of individuals that have acted against society in the most violent way.

It can also be used as an important negotiating tool for the police and the justice system, as where the possible sentence is death, the prisoner has the strongest possible incentive to try to get their sentence reduced, and therefore are likely to help with investigations.

These arguments are rebuked by opponents of capital punishment.

Executions, they argue, are cruel and immoral. Human life is valuable and everybody has a right to live. No one has the right to take away a human life, not even organised states.

Human rights activists argue that death penalty is a form of revenge against offenders and revenge is not necessarily about social justice.

Another important argument supported by abolitionists is that the death penalty discriminates against minorities and the poor, as it is people from these groups that are more likely to be sentenced to death. For example, although African Americans make up only about 13% of the US population, almost 50% of convicts on the death row are African American.

There is also always the possibility of a wrongful verdict that might irrevocably sent innocent people to the death row.

Finally, opponents of capital punishment argue that empirical reality disproves some of the arguments of defenders of the death penalty. There is no proof that the death penalty or long prison sentences have a strong deterrent effect. Crime rates are no lower in countries with death penalty.

Furthermore, the costs of carrying out a death sentence can be much more expensive than keeping a criminal in jail, due to legal costs, number of appeals but also security and incarceration costs.

It is for these reasons that opponents of the sentence ask for the death penalty to be abolished.

Where do you stand in this debate? After looking at death penalty's pros and cons, do you consider that capital punishment is a fair and appropriate measure for atrocious crimes or is it inhumane and should be banned?
Watch these videos on the death penalty pros and cons debate
Is capital punishment a fair and appropriate measure for atrocious crimes or should it be banned? Vote and tell us why. If you care about this issue explain your angle in the forum and bring other people to discuss and vote

If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option.

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Death penalty pros and cons: should it be abolished?

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Capital punishment is still enforced in many countries, such as the USA and China. We discuss the pros and cons of death penalty and whether it should be abolished. If you care about this issue, leave your comments and share the debate.

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Social media has been proven to benefit and hurt the world's population. With the pros and cons of this subject, the viewer is left to decide how to improve the good and fix the bad. A very important topic of discussion with the addition and improvement of the internet and social media.

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Editorial

Open access

Published:

BMC Psychology 11, Article number: 201 (2023) Cite this article

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Abstract

The use of social media significantly impacts mental health. It can enhance connection, increase self-esteem, and improve a sense of belonging. But it can also lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and isolation. Mindful use is essential to social media consumption.

Social media has become integral to our daily routines: we interact with family members and friends, accept invitations to public events, and join online communities to meet people who share similar preferences using these platforms. Social media has opened a new avenue for social experiences since the early 2000s, extending the possibilities for communication. According to recent research [ 1], people spend 2.3 h daily on social media. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have become increasingly popular among youth in 2022, and one-third think they spend too much time on these platforms [ 2]. The considerable time people spend on social media worldwide has directed researchers' attention toward the potential benefits and risks. Research shows excessive use is mainly associated with lower psychological well-being [ 3]. However, findings also suggest that the quality rather than the quantity of social media use can determine whether the experience will enhance or deteriorate the user's mental health [ 4]. In this collection, we will explore the impact of social media use on mental health by providing comprehensive research perspectives on positive and negative effects.

Social media can provide opportunities to enhance the mental health of users by facilitating social connections and peer support [ 5]. Indeed, online communities can provide a space for discussions regarding health conditions, adverse life events, or everyday challenges, which may decrease the sense of stigmatization and increase belongingness and perceived emotional support. Mutual friendships, rewarding social interactions, and humor on social media also reduced stress during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 4].

On the other hand, several studies have pointed out the potentially detrimental effects of social media use on mental health. Concerns have been raised that social media may lead to body image dissatisfaction [ 6], increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement [ 5], contribute to phubbing behaviors [ 7], and negatively affects mood [ 8]. Excessive use has increased loneliness, fear of missing out, and decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction [ 8]. Users at risk of social media addiction often report depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem [ 9].

Overall, findings regarding the impact of social media on mental health pointed out some essential resources for psychological well-being through rewarding online social interactions. However, there is a need to raise awareness about the possible risks associated with excessive use, which can negatively affect mental health and everyday functioning [ 9]. There is neither a negative nor positive consensus regarding the effects of social media on people. However, by teaching people social media literacy, we can maximize their chances of having balanced, safe, and meaningful experiences on these platforms [ 10].

We encourage researchers to submit their research articles and contribute to a more differentiated overview of the impact of social media on mental health. BMC Psychology welcomes submissions to its new collection, which promises to present the latest findings in the emerging field of social media research. We seek research papers using qualitative and quantitative methods, focusing on social media users' positive and negative aspects. We believe this collection will provide a more comprehensive picture of social media's positive and negative effects on users' mental health.

References

Funding

Ágnes Zsila was supported by the ÚNKP-22-4 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Institute of Psychology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary

Ágnes Zsila

2. Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Ágnes Zsila

3. Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, 1008, Philippines

Marc Eric S. Reyes

Contributions

AZ conceived and drafted the Editorial. MESR wrote the abstract and revised the Editorial. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc Eric S. Reyes.

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Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare relevant to the content of this article.

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Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health - BMC Psychology

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The use of social media significantly impacts mental health. It can enhance connection, increase self-esteem, and improve a sense of belonging. But it can also lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and isolation. Mindful use is essential to social media consumption.

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