News
Extreme Fighter Dies from Brain Injury following bout
Source: Kelly Bailey
Booto Guylain died on February 27, 2014 following a ProMMA Extreme Fighting Championship bout held in Johannesberg, South Africa. Guylain received an elbow to the head early during the bout which ended the flight and ultimately was the cause of his death from traumatic brain injury later at a nearby hospital.
Guylain’s death further focuses on sports-related TBI. As we heard in Ben Orlando’s podcast regarding the demise of football on History Repeating itself, football is following the footsteps of boxing in terms of a growing awareness of the violent nature of the sport. Yet, there is a fascination with Extreme and Ultimate Fighting in which a “no holds” approach to combat in the ring prevails. While there are fewer fighters in the ultimate and extreme fighting sports than there are football players, the likelihood of serious injury is very high. Are we not paying attention to this sport and the dangers because it sits on the fringe of our awareness?
What is the difference between an athletic competition and a brawl? Its time to take a look at sanctioned violence in sports. Click here to read about Booto Guylain’s TBI-related death in this Bleacher Report article.
