James???

[Tervueren]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/49431626

[Neils]

Brain dead already.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

MMA is a lot safer than boxing, and he's long been mates with Michael Bispisng a former UFC champion.

If he can get his head round grappling I reckon he'll do quite well.

[Tervueren]

So long as Freddie Burns does not take it up he might be OK

[InBetweenWasp]

He’s spent a fair bit of time historically training at London Shootfighters, as well as doing BJJ/Grappling to help his defence and turnover work.

At 34, it’s unlikely he’ll carve out a UFC career, but he’s competitive and in good shape so why not give it a go.  It’ll be a buzz and a test he doesn’t necessarily get from his corporate work.

[matelot22]

MMA is a lot safer than boxing,

I'm not arguing, but I wondered what you base that on???

As an ex- boxer myself and a long standing judge/referee, I wince at the way the UFC fighters are allowed to continue to throw head shots after a guy has been knocked down, that can't be safe?

[Raggs]

He's got enough character, and being British, that if he does ok i reckon he can get to the ufc quite easily.

[Old Geezer]

One blow to his mouth and his biggest weapon is gone!!!!!

[mike909]

Glad from that picture to see we share a similar physique....

[Vespula Vulgaris]

MMA is a lot safer than boxing,

I'm not arguing, but I wondered what you base that on???

As an ex- boxer myself and a long standing judge/referee, I wince at the way the UFC fighters are allowed to continue to throw head shots after a guy has been knocked down, that can't be safe?

Hydration and glove weight. I'm happy to go into detail if you want, but MMA does more superficial soft tissue damage, and less brain damage.

[FrankWasp]

Are you allowed to throw water?

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Are you allowed to throw water?

You're allowed to rehydrate with isotonic solutions throughout the fight which reduces the fluid loss around the brain thereby reducing concussion.

Plus the addition of grappling and the use of 4oz gloves for competition both have a massive difference.

[wasps]

Glove weight is the most commonly misunderstood part.

A boxing glove will absorb the initial impact so will ensure that the puncher's hand is less likely to be damaged, and also does a lot to protect to the face of the person being punched.
However, there's lot of research that highlights that instead of getting damage to the outside of the face, there can be significant damage to the inside of the head due to the more concussive type of impact that such gloves produce

MMA gloves are much lighter, they're likely to inflict more visible damage to the skin, but in a less concussive way.


That's before you consider that boxing is 12x3 minute rounds so totalling up to 36 minutes, whereas MMA is typically 3x5 or 5x5 minute rounds.


Also, a boxer's primary target is the head. 95% of the punches thrown will be aimed for the head.
In MMA it's a much lower percentage, with kicks to the body and legs as well as often significant periods of grappling with no strikes at all.




Both are combat sports with the potential to seriously hurt or injure someone, however, so is rugby.
There was a theory that a lot of the bad press about MMA used to come from boxing authorities and promoters who were concerned about a new sport impacting their profits.

The term cage fighting didn't really do MMA many favours either

[BG]

It looks likely Haskell will follow what Flintoff did after he retired in that Flintoff threw himself into anything that came his way. Flintoff had a few bouts in boxing plus he also did a lot of TV work away from cricket. Panel shows (Haskell has already started doing this) and I think Flintoff also did some "in the wild" documentaries.

Everything gave him experience and knowledge to then carve out a new career.

Tom Wood appeared on The House of Rugby and it transpires that he already does large scale wood carving mainly using chainsaws... so don't be surprised to see Tom Wood Treehouses Ltd pop up soon.

A player that thinks they are going to roll into rugby punditry is dillusioned. Most jobs/opportunities in that area are locked down (how long has Barnes had his job for??)

Best of luck to Hask for his MMA debut but I worry about some of his long term injuries being made worse. He still can't straighten one of his fingers and his foot problem was the reasons he decided he couldn't play rugby.. so I not sure how he could be mobile or flexible enough to compete in a MMA bout