Dec. 8, 2007, 5:01AM
In lieu of outcry, a plea for safety
By JEROME SOLOMON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
I won't even attempt to explain why people are interested in mixed martial arts.
Basically, you would have to pay me to watch the mess.
It is crude, barbaric and without the style or grace that I like to see in sport. It certainly isn't sweet or scientific to these untrained, laser vision-corrected eyes.
And now Sammy Vasquez, husband, father and mixed martial artist is dead. The Houston-based fighter lost his life six weeks after leaving the "cage" on a stretcher following a loss at Toyota Center.
Vasquez, 35, went down for the last time in the third round of a fight against Vince Libardi on Oct. 20. He died Nov. 30 and was buried Thursday.
You might think the national debate about a sport so many find repulsive would rise to a new level because of the death of Vasquez. You might think people would ask more questions more loudly. You might think lawmakers would gather hastily for an emergency session to address the
situation.
Fatal flaw in statistic
After all, a man, a father, a husband, lost his life after being injured in the cage at an MMA fight. It has been a week since Vasquez passed away. Where is the outrage?
There isn't any. And you know what? There shouldn't be. Not yet anyway.
Like many, I'm disgusted by buttermilk, liver and mixed martial arts. Yet, despite the death of Vasquez, I won't start the debate about banning MMA fighting. Just make sure it is as safe as we can make it.
You don't have to like or understand the sport to accept that in many ways it is no more dangerous than many of the sports we love. Or at least there hasn't been much evidence presented that says otherwise.
For years, MMA supporters have been knocking Santa off of rooftops so they could shout out the "statistic" that no fighter had died due to injuries related to a sanctioned bout in this country.
No denying the intensity
Like soccer zealots, politicians and $64,000 Question contestants, they have ready-made answers for every question. Talk to them and you'll hear about death and injury rates in sporting activities from darts to cheerleading. Yes, cheerleading. Yes, darts.
A boxing match is a challenging life test few get to experience. One thing that makes boxing the sport it is, is the intensity you feel watching fighters deal with the pressure and fear of knowing they might be carried out of the ring.
But the sport is on the ropes. The Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight was enough of a flurry to keep the sport from being knocked out. But tonight's Mayweather-Ricky Hatton bout in Las Vegas could be just a standing-eight-count reprieve for a sport that has been ruined by a slew of bad decisions (business-wise), bad publicity and bad decisions (ringside).
Mixed martial arts as a whole — and there are several independent organizations in the sport, most notably the Ultimate Fighting Championships — has created a rabid fan base and done an excellent job marketing itself to a generation of fans who are thrilled by violent movies, raging video games and extreme sports.
Argue the beauty, but the intensity is there. It is boxing for this generation.
More oversight?
Before letters of the alphabet were used to describe generations, Evel Knievel, who died the same day as Vasquez, was pretty much the lone extremist wowing national television audiences. Now there are teenagers willing to perform stunts more dangerous than many of his just to get videos on the Internet.
Should we ban skate-boarding events because those nuts can free-fall 30 feet onto concrete? Should we ban cheerleading competitions because one slip-up and Little Missy is sent plunging from the top of the pyramid?
Hardly.
The same goes for MMA fighting. It's too late.
All we can do is regulate and hope for the best. To this point, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has found nothing improper in its investigation into Vasquez's death.
The official cause of death has yet to be determined by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, and the results might not be released for several weeks. Maybe then we will know more about what could have been done to save Vasquez.
Maybe more testing is needed before fighters are allowed to enter the ring. Maybe the more extensive testing required of fighters at least 36 years old will be extended to all competitors.
Maybe we need tighter guidelines on determining what makes for a sensible match or a dangerous mismatch. There is much debate in the MMA community in which of those categories the Vasquez-Libardi fight even falls.
Rest in peace
One thing is for certain. Whether you pay attention to the sport, it is horrible and sad that the most important number of its most important statistic has changed from zero to one.
Whatever can be done to keep that number at one needs to be done.
That would be a good way to honor the memory of a fallen fighter. Rest in peace Sammy Vasquez.