A little under a year ago we started to see stories come out about Gary Goodridge and issues he was suffering from his long fighting career. In an article on TheStar.com last May, Goodridge had talked about how he had significant memory problems and was on a series of drugs "fit for an Alzheimer's patient."
With the release of Goodridge's autobiography, he is once again in the news and talking about brain injuries. In an interview with MMA Weekly, Goodridge talks about his recent diagnosis for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)/pugilistic dimentia:
"You get the news you just have to deal with it, live with it," Goodridge told MMAWeekly.com on Monday. "There's no treatment that goes along with it. There's pills to make it slow down the process, but it's inevitable."
...
"I would like to share with people, but I think most of my damage came from K-1. MMA really wasn't an issue because there's hardly any shots to the head," said Goodridge. "90-percent of my injuries came from K-1, where there's nothing but head trauma, head injuries over and over again."
Obviously, yes, a sport with more strikes to the head will have more of an impact over time. It still is a little unfortunate to hear Gary phrase it the way he does though. His minimizing the impact MMA had on his health will allow fans to continue ignoring the reality that we will see CTE impact MMA as time goes on. It's not just about in competition injuries but also about training, where sparring accounts for much of the trauma a fighter will endure over the course of his career.
Back in 2010, a study was done on high school football players that showed that players who were never diagnosed as having suffered concussions were still showing brain impairment on par with that of players who had been diagnosed in more obvious cases and removed from play. As the Indy Star put it at the time:
Because these sub-clinical concussions -- injuries that can't be diagnosed as concussions but have similar effects -- are not recognized, the athletes are potentially at risk for additional, more serious concussions and other brain illnesses such as early-onset Alzheimer's disease, chronic depression and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which affects the normal function of the brain as scar tissue replaces neurons, according to the study.
This is where we should be more concerned as fans. I've been in big and small gyms where you see guys get "buzzed" durring sparring, sit out for a few minutes, then jump right back in. There's simply no way around the fact that involvement with combat sports carries with it a significant risk.
That is not to say the sport is bad, simply that there are risks involved with participation. I love MMA and I love boxing (a sport with an obvious higher risk for brain injuries). The violence and danger involved in the sports is a part of their appeal. That being said, I've focused a lot on concussions and brain injury in the past because I feel like MMA fans still have their heads in the sand when it comes to the fact that these are issues we're going to see more and more of as time goes on.
There's little we can do to prevent traumatic brain injury outright, this is a violent game we all love. But getting a better understanding of monitoring fighters in camp and trying to minimize the damage taken over time is a space where progress can be made.
0 recs | 103 comments
'when contacted for a comment, paul herrera added:
aggle flaggle klabble. wumpy flumpy, derp.’
gspmademegay - February 14, 2012
Stefan Struve we're looking at you
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
Because he’s had 3 knockout losses and he’s only 23?
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
Because he's had 2 brutal KO losses
One standing TKO where he looked absolutely helpless, and a severely troubling propensity to getting clubbed in the face. If he doesn’t fix the latter issue soon, he’ll end up just like Goodridge.
Damon O. - February 14, 2012
Gary was in K1 when he shouldn’t have been and suffered horrific KO losses because he didn’t have a grounding in kickboxing. K1 were notorious for taking advantage of guys with recognisable names from other combat sports and throwing them to the wolves. Unless Stefan Struve is planning a similar career move, he has a long, long way to go before he ‘’ends up just like Goodridge’’.
sheikybaby - February 14, 2012
Don't have to be a pack a day guy to get cancer
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
Stefan is a tall fighter that refuses to fight tall
He’s the anti-Semmy Schilt. He’s said numerous times that he’d rather stand and bang than anything else. When you have glaring stand-up deficiencies, poor striking defense, and keep getting tagged by big shots in 4 oz gloves….you’re going down the same route as Gary Goodridge.
Damon O. - February 14, 2012
his KO losses really don't tell the whole story
He has taken massive damage in almost every fight he has won in the UFC as well.
The Lethal Haze - February 14, 2012
yeah,
i am thinking Sakuraba should be talked to as well.
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
And Roy Nelson
Look into the future Big Country. Using your chin as a defense is a bad long term strategy.
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
His experience may prove MMA had minimal impact on him,
But Goodridge should talk to Liddell to see the effects of head shots in MMA.
pud333 - February 14, 2012 via mobile
When I hear Liddell these days I always think “he doesn’t sound so bad, people might be overreacting.” But the difference between the way he speaks now vs when he was younger really brings me back to reality.
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
Yeah, that’s the litmus test. It’s really evident when you compare the before and after Chucks.
pud333 - February 14, 2012
I noticed it in that video of GSP and Chuck
when they were watching the diaz/ condit fight.
soilworker - February 14, 2012
one thing about chuck
He was a kickboxer before going into Mma. Not to mention his barenuckle fighting. His speech was going downhill before his last couple ko’s.
NW Okie - February 14, 2012 via mobile
the difference between the way he sounds now, and the way he sounded back when he was fighting is night and day. Maybe he’s cleaned himself up and is laying off the booze or something because it’s been the better part of a decade since I can recall him sounding as clear as he does now.
Grappo - February 14, 2012
i think by stating that most of the head injuries were from kickboxing he is trying to defend the safety of mma
Not trying to sweep head trauma and its consequences under the rug.
Earl Montclair - February 14, 2012 via iPhone app
He was KO’d/TKO’d 9 times in MMA, and 14 times in kickboxing. By the numbers the kickboxing was worse, but it says little about the inherent safety of one over the other.
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
i understand that but i think the point i made still stands in reference to what Brent was saying
Earl Montclair - February 14, 2012 via iPhone app
I understand that and it does.
I agree with you I was just pointing out that it’s a flawed argument for him to make.
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
yeah. head trauma.
Earl Montclair - February 14, 2012 via iPhone app
It's not just the competition itself that causes the injuries
it’s the sparing. In MMA you spend lots of time grappling and whatnot. In Kickboxing all you do is throw strikes. It adds up. Allegedly.
Schwizzles - February 14, 2012
“Sparring” really varies. I think it’s the full-contact “simulation” sparring that would really start to add up, since you have to do a fair amount of sparring without head gear.
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
Although taking a big shot with head gear isn’t exactly a picnic for your brain.
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
There came out a pretty interesting study on that last week actually. Apparently it does help some with headgear and boxing gloves, but only for straight punches. When it comes to hooks it basically doesn’t do any change at all.
http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/2/9/2788332/study-headgear-does-not-lessen-impact-from-hooks
Horselover Fat - February 14, 2012
Its combat sports
As much as everyone wants to say its safe, its hitting each other in the head until someone gets knocked out.
Its not safe.
1 can be SAFER than the other but they still aren’t safe.
Clay Davis - February 14, 2012
exactly
cage fighting isn’t some sort of healthful endeavor. Its cage fighting.
The Lethal Haze - February 14, 2012
Training and sparring
has got to be up there with any single or small batch of losses. Training is going to have to be looked at hard. I’m no insider, but I’ve heard for years for example that the Chute Box guys kick the hell out of each other, KO’s in practice. Any legit confirmation of that?
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
I agree,
This is good for all the ignorant “ultimate fighting” morons to see that sports other than MMA may be more dangerous than MMA.
juanchoD - February 14, 2012
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
For those who have never seen it
http://youtu.be/9CpVTU14J_g
Ugh.
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
WOW
that is the most ridiculous and hazerdous spectacle I have seen
elmojo - February 14, 2012
Yeah, I’ve seen that before. Ugh is an understatement.
pud333 - February 14, 2012
this may be the dumbest shit ever
sadly i would still watch it
Cunny - February 14, 2012
I could've sworn...
that that was a picture of Gilbert Yvel. Those two humans looks so alike!
bigcountrysbeard - February 14, 2012
"MMA really wasn't an issue because there's hardly any shots to the head"
Grappo - February 14, 2012
Damn...
That was a great leg kick
DecipleofMagus - February 14, 2012
To be fair he was fighting a pro wrestler
That had no business in the ring.
discoandherpes - February 15, 2012
One of the reasons I was happy to see Castillo join the BE staff
Was his excellent work in covering brain trauma in football and combat sports. Some of the stuff he brought up was shocking; I seem to remember reading that modern football helmets only offer marginally more protection than the old-fashioned leather helmets.
There’s still so much we don’t know and indeed research seems to suggest that the many, many minor concussions that football players and fighters suffer can cause as much or more brain trauma than a handful of clean knockouts. Here’s hoping Goodridge’s case will open a few more eyes.
wonderfulspam - February 14, 2012
Thanks for the kind words
Mr. Spasm. And yea, the old ‘leatherheads’ being just as safe as modern day helmets was interesting news, but also just another emphasis over the fact that no matter how much you can control for neck injuries, you can’t control the brain itself.
David Castillo - February 14, 2012
I've wanted to see
comparisons of Rugby and Aussie football with NFL’ers. We always thought the helmet caused more injuries than it prevented to to feeling invulnerable and leading with the head.
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
The thing with Gary’s K-1 career is that he fought the absolute best in the world, men who pretty much always had much better technique than him. What Gary had going for him was an incredible chin, big heart, and huge power in his hands. Usually you’d see him always lumbering forward with his hands down, taking big shots, while swinging wild hooks and haymakers. He was never a fine technician, and he almost always came up short against the JLB’s and Peter Aert’s of the world. He’d usually smash lesser opponents though.
Either way he has taken huge amounts of damage during his career, partly because he fought men better than him, and also because of his reckless style of fighting. Add then the fact that he probably should have retired at least five years before he did, and frankly shouldn’t have been licensed and cleared to fight during that time. Quite a sad story.
Horselover Fat - February 14, 2012
In all seriousness
Roy Nelson needs to read this post.
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
Well, Roy got started late and shouldn’t have many years left on his career, so I think he’ll be alright. But yes, his human punching bag routine is pretty damn sad.
Horselover Fat - February 15, 2012
in other news
Doo Ho Choi is missing, so he’s out of DEEP 57 FW title fight
and now Hideki Kadowaki is in
DK_Monster - February 14, 2012
Missing?
Like Nick Diaz missing?
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
milk carton template anyone?
work filters wont let me. on the real though i hope Doo Ho Choi is ok.
PeopleWatching - February 14, 2012
hes ok
no worries
DK_Monster - February 14, 2012
there been an update on him?
PeopleWatching - February 14, 2012
Machiel Van - February 14, 2012
not really an update
since it shouldnt be released to the press
DK_Monster - February 14, 2012
yup
just like Diaz
there are some more behind stories but i’ve been told not to say anything about this.
one thing i can guarantee is DHC is ok, hes not in any danger.
DK_Monster - February 14, 2012
Interesting, but I’m glad to hear he’s ok. For some reason, the first thing that came to my mind was some form of organized crime.
andrew861 - February 14, 2012
Thanks Brent.
I thought CTE could only be positively identified with an autopsy though?
All of this brain trauma stuff is why i’m really not enjoying watching football anymore. Either people are ignorant, or they think that since people are “free to choose” what they do to their bodies it’s ok to cheer that shit on.
I’m holding onto MMA for as long as I can, but I have a feeling we’re all going to be feeling kinda guilty in the years to come…
dola - February 14, 2012
Wishing Gary the best
I know I as well as many others enjoyed watching you fight. Let’s never forget him although he will forget us.
El Cool Bean - February 14, 2012 via mobile
What about...
…the 3 KO’s and you should retire recommendation?
I can’t be the only one who’s heard it.
Irminsul - February 14, 2012
GARY
GIFSoup
yellopanda - February 14, 2012
Fatality.
Baba Booey - February 14, 2012
No Shit!
I remember that fight. Everyone in the room was just slack jawed.
DankNabbot - February 14, 2012
possibly the most famous mma knockout ever
Cunny - February 15, 2012
I’ve seen that highlight a million times, but just realized….are those 12-6 elbows?!? Where’s Mazagatti?!?!?!
Baba Booey - February 15, 2012
ah, back in the days when the ufc was lawless
good times
Cunny - February 15, 2012
That must be devastating news to hear from your doctor.
The only safe number of hits to the head is zero. Hopefully in the future we can track brain damage over the course of a career and identify when it has become too sever to continue.
I imagine the when that day comes the typical MMA career may be 5-7 years max.
Somewhat related story: My sister’s friend grew up wanting to make a living in Ballet. Since the day she could walk she practised ballet….went to an arts high school and majored in ballet in college. By the age of 25 she was nearly crippled. She has so much pain in her knees and ankles she can barely walk.
MMA_Messiah - February 14, 2012
I believe it
I wrestled since 5 and my Dr just told me my knee and hip are in the condition of a 60 year old…..I’m 25
attgnp - February 14, 2012
this is really tragic
i hope he has a good retirement
elmojo - February 14, 2012
this article makes me appreciate Condit and Frankie and Cruz. i understand now more than ever that fighting smart (which looks like fighting safe) is the best way to preserve longevity w/out some intense physical repercussions.
i don’t care about what that statement makes me sound like. i prefer y fighters coherent.
F'n Clownshoes - February 14, 2012
Fun fact: Gary Goodridge was one of the best arm wrestlers in the world before he transitioned to MMA. http://www.armwrestlinghistorychannel.com/2011/12/gary-goodridge.html
I bet most of you already knew that, but there you go. I’d also recommend the documentary “Pulling John” about arm wrestling, very interesting stuff.
Horselover Fat - February 14, 2012
I saw that was on instant view on netflix last night, I was going to watch it but decided to give Firefly a shot instead.
Also, one of my favorite movies: Over The Top.
BeefSupreme - February 14, 2012
I don’t get the love for Firefly. I’ve tried to watch it.. I don’t understand space travel, and having to heat your ship with a wood stove. wtf
Clay Davis - February 14, 2012
Yeah, I'm the odd man out too
All my friends love that show, I don’t see the appeal
Shaun32887 - February 14, 2012
show some respect to the hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne.
Grappo - February 14, 2012
Meh.
I think my problem is Han Solo was one of my childhood heroes, and Mal just seems like Han Solo light to me.
Shaun32887 - February 14, 2012
How can you not love a combination of western and space-opera?
Featuring a band of scavengers just trying to get by, han solo is an undeveloped character compared to anyone on that show
UK MMA MAN - February 14, 2012
I didn't really care for the show at first
was kinda meh about it. But I loved the movie, and that made me go back and watch the show again with more interest.
Grappo - February 15, 2012
Truth
The characters were very fleshed out for only twelve episodes and a flick.
discoandherpes - February 15, 2012
sexysassytravismmafan - February 14, 2012
oh, so that's why he did that stupid x-arm shit
Cunny - February 14, 2012
That was just someone joking, he never did x-arm.
Horselover Fat - February 15, 2012
lol, I never looked back up at the article to confirm
Thanks for saving me from my idiocy
Was surprised I’d never heard about it…
Cunny - February 15, 2012
Haha okay, no problem!
Horselover Fat - February 15, 2012
Sadly he was onboard with it and was in a lot of their original promo material
I don’t know if he ever fought though.
menckenstein - February 15, 2012
Oh okay, damn. Did not know that
Horselover Fat - February 15, 2012
Question
Gary will never be forgotten by the semi-hardcore fans, he was one of the most entertaining fighters of the early era of the sport. As far as head trauma goes, I think it is the right of every adult to get KO’d as many times as he/she wishes. Having said that, there probably should be more control in this. One would expect someone like Gary Goodridge having huge trouble getting licenced towards the end of his career.
Also, could someone be so nice and provide some coherent info about former Pride guys suffering brain damage (there was some talk about Ninja Rua)?
Post_Soviet_Semi_Hardcore - February 14, 2012
7 losses in a row
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Goodridge
sexysassytravismmafan - February 14, 2012
You could tell Mousasi felt bad for him
So many fights that should’ve never happened. Fedor alone probably took a couple years off his life.
menckenstein - February 14, 2012
I met Gary a few years ago at the first MMA Expo in Toronto. He is one scary mother. He had a fight that night on some Indian reserve, and he looked like he wanted to kill everyone at that expo.
Clay Davis - February 14, 2012
That sucks
This is just one more reason I’m glad I got out of MMA before I got to F-ed up. I love fighting, but just in the time I was in it I can feel the physical toll it took. I can’t imageing 10 or 15 years in the sport.
attgnp - February 14, 2012
The Commercial With The Kids Practising MMA Bothers Me
There have been a handful of good studies recently that explain the dangers of non-concussive head strikes. These are strikes that fall short of even “ringing your bell”. Why would anyone not take this issue seriously?
I have posted these links in a previous thread about this issue, but here they are again:
http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/head-injuries-football.html
http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/03/28/should-nrl-players-strike-for-their-safety/
http://brainchampions.org/the-end-of-football-as-we-know-it-is-near
prophet665 - February 14, 2012
Agreed
I love MMA but it is a little to rough for kids. People really need to just keep them in grappling while they are young. There is far to much development going on to have someone beating them in the head over and over. I honestly feel for those kids future. Plus their bodies are going to be to worn out by the time they are ever old enough to make a name in MMA.
attgnp - February 14, 2012
So getting hit in the head is bad?
Well in other related news the sky is blue.
ldcpanther - February 14, 2012
so sad.
this reminds me of the story Eddie Bravo told a while back where Goodridge was at a Pride show and was so fucked up he thought he was at a rave. he thought he had picked up some chick at the club and it was actually his sister, who had traveled with him. you have to wonder how you get a guy to stop fighting or work on getting better evaluations/medical treatment.
like Joe Rogan said: brain damage is for keeps.
Victor Rodriguez - February 14, 2012
Not strictly MMA, but a little listening material for anyone interested in the sports concussion crisis
http://www.beyondthepitch.net/podcasts/edition/index.cfm/beyond-the-pitch/2011/03/09/chris-nowinski/
Interesting to relate it to a number of sports and their safeguards
UK MMA MAN - February 14, 2012
I think Gary Goodridges brain damage has more to do with his ill advised kickboxing career
I mean, he got knocked out repeatedly by guys he shouldn’t have been fighting in the first place.
discoandherpes - February 15, 2012
CREATINE....
…Has consistently been shown to cut brain damage in half—to this day it’s being tested on soldiers with brain trauma showing good results. It’s a wonder combat athletes aren’t consuming it with their cornflakes. I know I was when I was when I was actively competing.
SammyBeez - February 15, 2012
Sparring
Brent, is controlled light/medium contact sparring with gloves on still felt to be o.k. for your long term brain health, or is the opinion on that being reworked much like children’s football? I understand a lot of the issue is from significant and repetitive blows to the head, I just have a hard time defining what exactly constitutes significant. I spar once a week or so, light to medium-ish contact with both of us wearing 14-16 oz. boxing gloves.
My intuition tells me this is still a relatively safe activity since if this level of contact were unsafe, there would be many more folks in normal life who have participated in regular martial arts that would have cognitive impairment. I get that there are a lot of folks out there right now with it that we don’t know about, but it still seems unlikely.
Dev93L - February 15, 2012
The sparring you mention does cause brain damage:
you’d be surprised by the studies that have been done on soccer players getting brain damage from butting(not sure right term)the ball with their heads. Also, a person doesn’t have to even feel it for there to be damage. Anything that jars the head enough to cause the brain to collide with the inside skull will cause damage. Also, read my note above about creatine. I used to read a lot on this subject because I competed in amatuer boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. I once thought that sparring doesn’t really cause any damage. Then I picked up a copy of Ring Magazine and read some Q & A spelling out how sparring does indeed cause brain damage. After a while I deccided that my future quality of life was not worth sacrificing for a hobbie—something I wasn’t going to make a lot of money doing.
SammyBeez - February 15, 2012
This is the first I have heard about this – light contact sparring with padded gloves causing brain damage. There are millions of folks every day sparring. I guess some of them have brain damage that they do not know about. I guess I do as well.
It’s just an unusual situation because there are tons of people who are living healthy lives today retired from combat sports, much less people participating in basic hobbies. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. Maybe it affects some folks worse than others.
Dev93L - February 16, 2012
basic hobbies meaning basic martial arts classes with standard light contact sparring.
Dev93L - February 16, 2012
.It's all about accumulation and severity...
.…doing light sparring for years most likely isn’t going to turn you into a drooling punch-drunk idiot but it may very well have an impact in more subtle ways later on, such as: Depression, anxiety, ADHD, maybe Alzheimers in later life. It’s not an either/or scenario, it’s more of a continuum: Gary Goodrich obviously doesn’t represent the majority of people in terms of how much damage he has sustained. Do your own research and make an informed decision about how much you’re willing to risk vs. how much your willing to participate. I personally, at age 37, am not willing to take the damage from sparring and risk quality of life later on for a hobby. I stick to bag work and pads for my stand-up and grappling for my actual sparring and competing. It’s risk vs. reward.
SammyBeez - February 16, 2012
I understand now. It may have a more subtle impact, or it may not. It’s a lot of “probably/maybe/possibly/’s”. I did some research and found out some interesting things.
It is also probably different among individuals as to which of those 3 words they represent for the amount of negative effects they will endure later on. I will probably just stick to “occasionally” so I don’t have to feel like I have totally given up on something I love and walked away from it, while simultaneously maintaining much more mental health than getting conked in the head a few times a week. Thanks.
Dev93L - February 16, 2012
It's all about accumulation and severity...
…doing light sparring for years most likely isn’t going to turn you into a drooling punch-drunk idiot but it may very well have an impact in more subtle ways later on, such as: Depression, anxiety, ADHD, maybe Alzheimers in later life. It’s not an either/or scenario, it’s more of a continuum: Gary Goodrich obviously doesn’t represent the majority of people in terms of how much damage he has sustained. Do your own research and make an informed decision about how much you’re willing to risk vs. how much your willing to participate. I personally, at age 37, am not willing to take the damage from sparring and risk quality of life later on for a hobby. I stick to bag work and pads for my stand-up and grappling for my actual sparring and competing. It’s risk vs. reward.
SammyBeez - February 16, 2012
sorry posted twice :(
SammyBeez - February 16, 2012
Yo, I don't know what happened here...sorry about this.
SammyBeez - February 16, 2012
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