An official concussion protocol has been created for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters competing in the UFC, in a first for the sport which builds further on global efforts to safeguard sportspeople from the effects of head injury.
The UFC Performance Institute has published its protocol, aimed at both fighters and coaches, as part of a 484-page study based on data collected between 2017 and 2019.
Hailed as the most comprehensive MMA study ever undertaken, it details the UFC’s five-step rules around returning to the sport following concussion or TBI.
“The goal is we really want to support the ongoing development and performance behaviours and activities in the MMA gyms in the combat community globally,” says Duncan French, the UFC’s vice president of performance.
“We are slowly aggregating our own insights and our information here in the Performance Institute, and we want to share that. We don’t want the PI to become an ivory tower where the information is only retained for a discrete 600 roster of fighters.”
Further investigation into any different needs for female fighters will be undertaken, the vice president adds.
“Now, we need to do more work to understand how we can potentially support the ladies if they do have a concussion,” says Duncan.
“Because that method, that approach to return to play following a concussion in females, might need to be different.”
In the new protocol, the details its return-to-sport approach as being similar to that of the NFL, beginning with up to two days of rest, followed by two stages of no-contact workouts.
The UFC wants fighters to use its concussion assessment tool, the SCAT5, to monitor progress, and as they improve, fighters can go from no-contact workouts to moderate contact, although still with minimal risk of head contact.
The final stage includes a return to sparring, and the UFC PI recommends starting with one session each week with no more than three rounds of five minutes, gradually adding more over a period of four weeks until they reach two full sparring sessions of five rounds per session.
Returning to full contact will need medical clearance, the protocol states.
“For brain injuries like concussion, even if you are feeling symptom-free, a fighter should go through all stages of a return-to-sport protocol to ensure a full brain recovery,” the report says.
“Further, resuming activity too quickly, especially in contact sports like MMA, not only increases the risk of subsequent musculoskeletal injuries and longer recovery times but also further concussions (e.g. second-impact syndrome) which can lead to chronic neurological conditions, permanent disability and death.”
