Boxing and MMA are both dangerous martial arts. When the whole goal of the fighters is to knock out the opponent and force him to surrender, the rate of injuries will be higher than the average sport. That’s why all martial arts provide some risk for their trainees.
Boxing is more dangerous than MMA because it involves more striking, which is more harmful than grappling. As a result, brain damage and head injuries will be more common amongst boxers. Likewise, they’re more likely to injure their hands, fingers, wrists, and fingers since they punch more often.
It’s not a joke when I say that boxing is one of the most dangerous sports. If you really want to know why, the rate of injury—is up there. If you’re a boxer, you most likely have experienced more than a light injury—at least more than once.
The rate is 17 moderate injuries per 100 boxing matches. So, you have a 17% chance of getting injured in an amateur/professional match. If you don’t understand what it means, if you compete 5 times, you’re more than likely to get injured, which is considered extremely unsafe.
MMA, on the other hand, is safer—but not as much as other sports. Because it also includes striking (kicking and punching), fighters may get severely injured often. However, it includes more grappling, which is considered safe than striking.
Here’s why MMA is safer than boxing
If you want to know which is the safer sport, MMA or boxing, you came to the right section. Here, I’ll explain everything there’s to know about preventing injuries in all martial arts. Likewise, I’ll examine which is more dangerous, boxing or MMA.
Mixed Martial Arts is safer than boxing because it involves the use of grappling and striking techniques. Boxing, on the other hand, includes only punching, which provides more risk to the fighters than grappling. As a result, its rate of injury will be higher than MMA’s.
If you want to practice real martial arts, you must be prepared to getting injured. That said, you can do anything in your power to prevent future injuries, especially the most common ones, head, hands, and wrists.
Preventing these injuries—isn’t as hard as you think. All you need to do is ensure you own protective gear, hand wraps, gloves, and headgear. By constantly wearing them—in sparring, training, and in fights, your chances of getting injured greatly diminish.
If you want to buy the best ones, simply follow the links for each individual protective equipment in the last paragraph.
| Martial art | Rate of injury |
|---|---|
| Boxing | 17.7 per 100 |
| MMA | 9.9 per 100 |
To conclude, MMA is safer than boxing – but still dangerous. As such, if you want to reduce the odds of future injuries, consider buying protective equipment, such as hand wraps, gloves, and headgear. You can buy the best ones by following the above links, for each individual item.
Is boxing the most dangerous sport?
Today, many people think boxing is the most dangerous sports. However, that is simply untrue. The list of competitive sports—is almost endless. And, there are much more dangerous ones; let’s examine which they are.
Mountain climbing, skiing, and motorcycling, are more dangerous than boxing. These sports include more risk, as even protective gear doesn’t usually end up protecting as much. On the other hand, if you wear gloves, hand wraps, and headgear, you’ll be safe in a boxing match.
Eventually, if you’re hesitant on starting to train in martial arts because it’s dangerous, don’t be. The number of mental and physical benefits you’ll receive—is countless. If you want to read about the benefits of martial arts, follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.
After all is said and done, you’ll be enjoying boxing and MMA greatly. Likewise, you’ll be an entirely different person if you decide to train in any of which. As a result, I highly recommend you to go ahead and start your training as soon as possible, even if it seems dangerous.
Can boxers fight in MMA?
MMA is different from boxing. For that reason, it may be difficult to make the transition from one martial art to the other. But, this change is, of course, possible. Let’s see how.
Boxers can fight in MMA, but they must learn additional fighting techniques, such as ground or throwing grappling, if they wish to see success. Because Mixed Martial Arts allows using more techniques than when you box, you’ll also need to learn a broader variety of them when transitioning.
If you only know how to punch and compete against fighters who can grapple effectively, you stand no chance. It’s true that a boxer is a white belt when on his back. So, if a grappler successfully knocks you to the ground, you lost the fight.
Many are the UFC fighters who can grapple professionally. If you’ll face any of them, and don’t know how to grapple yourself, you’ll soon find yourself on the ground and screaming for help.
But, boxing also plays a significant role in MMA. As a result, if you know how to strike aggressively, you’ll be capable of causing damage, but not as much if you were to know how to grapple.
Which is the safest combat sport?
Training in martial arts, or combative sports, will always be dangerous. As a result, you’re likely to get some type of injuries in the process of your training. Of course, you can take steps toward preventing such injuries, such as buying protective gear.
However, you can also select a combat sport that’s less dangerous. Here’s the one I believe to be extremely effective and provide less risk than its peers.
BJJ is the safest combat sport that also teaches highly effective fighting techniques; hence ground grappling. You can use BJJ to finish a fight in less than a few seconds, as you’ll submit your opponent and force him to “tap out”. And, it doesn’t include any striking, which makes it a safer-than-average martial art.
I was ready to suggest that Tai chi is the safest martial art. However, a thought struck me; Tai chi doesn’t teach valuable fighting techniques. Rather, it’s more about breathing, self-control, and mindfulness.
Now, I’m not saying it’s not important. But, I wanted to recommend a martial art that was highly effective. If you want to learn more about BJJ and what makes it extremely effective, follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.
Final words
To end this article, I want to show my appreciation for both boxing and MMA. If you train in any of these, you’re on your way to having your mindset toward life completely change. You’ll start adopting a growth mindset, which means you’ll strive for progression in everything you do.
Likewise, you’ll receive many mental and physical benefits, such as increased confidence, higher self-esteem, better physical shape, and being less stressed. Such benefits are, indeed, highly desirable in today’s society.
If you’re worried about the safety of these martial arts, don’t be. You can always pair yourself with proper protective gear to ensure you greatly reduce the odds of you getting injured. And, as a result, make these martial arts less dangerous.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about why boxers put Vaseline on the faces. Doing so may help you in your fighting career as well.