Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

Re “It Only Looks Dangerous,” by David Zinczenko (Op-Ed, April 2):

I am a big fan of mixed martial arts fighting; the skill and courage of the competitors is astounding. But it is absurd to argue that it is a relatively benign sport. While “only 28 percent” of all M.M.A. fights may be decided by a blow to the head, the reality of such an innocuous statistic is harsh: in roughly a third of the bouts, one of the fighters is knocked out (suffers a concussion) or is pounded defenseless.

And even when the fights aren’t ended by head blows, each fighter inevitably endures tremendously powerful head strikes. We are only beginning to comprehend just how sensitive the exquisite human brain is to such trauma.

Again, I’m a fan of M.M.A. and think that it should be legal. The willingness to endure the potential repercussions of fighting in both the long term and the short term is part of what gives fighters their unique charisma. It insults their courage to pretend that what they are doing is relatively harmless.

DAVID HAYDEN
Wilton, Conn., April 2, 2011