Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the world but, as with any other combat sport, it can also be one of the most dangerous.
Every time an athlete enters the arena to compete he is putting his health and safety at risk knowing that anything can happen. Thus far our sport has had little in major injuries or fatalities but recently a 20 year old amateur fighter from Chicago had suffered one of the worst Injuries to date.
Jeff Dunbar is a man who had dreams of one day becoming a professional fighter, but that dream is now over after a risky move has left him paralyzed.
On 17th December, Dunbar competed in an amateur bout and, during the fight, wound up on the receiving end of a rear-naked choke. Unable to escape from it, he attempted a move that would change the course of his life forever.
Dunbar would try to recreate the highlight reel piledriver escape, famously used by Tyson Griffin in a UFC 72 bout with Clay Guida. The move however backfired and an almost unconscious Dunbar landed on his neck, taking the full weight of himself and his opponent.
He was instantly paralyzed and Doctors have said that while there is a chance he may regain movement in his arms, they have informed him he will never walk again.
His coach, Josh Bulak, earlier today spoke to mmajunkie.com and said,
“The doctor didn’t sugar-coat anything. They told him he’d never walk again. It was a crushing blow.”
“We’ve never practiced that in class,” Bulak said. “He just sort of pile-drived himself. That probably would’ve been the third or fourth way I’d teach him to get out of that. It’s more of a desperation move. You can’t really practice it. You don’t practice stuff like that. It’s just a freak thing.
“He should have tapped. I just wish he would have tapped.”
The incident is one of the worst injuries ever suffered in our sport and highlights the dangers all fighters face when entering any bout.
We at The Fight Lounge would like to offer our condolences to Mr Dunbar and his family in this very hard time. We only hope that he can live as normal a life as possible and that an incident of this nature may never happen to any other fighter again.
By Nathan Court
