MMA: Deadly stakes

Take that, you winner you!   (Photo by MatthiasKabel)

The old expression, "I'm gonna knock some sense into you,” doesn’t always ring true.  It’s quite likely that the senses will instead be knocked right out of such victims.

A 26-year-old mixed martial arts fighter died recently from a “technical knockout.”  That’s a polite way of saying he was beaten to death. Although authorities are allegedly looking into this, Rondel Clark will still be dead when their investigation ends.

MMA is a throwback to the bad old days of gladiator-type sports.  Its roots are in ancient Greek pankration (translation: pretty much anything goes).  Arrhichon of Phiglia, a top Olympic pankratiast of his day, was killed in 564 BC while defending two previous titles.  His opponent suffocated Arrhichon by squeezing his neck.

Never fear, Arrhichon won anyway.  Clark, too, may have gained a legacy. Nevertheless, posthumous awards are highly overrated.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mma/mixed-martial-arts-fighter-hospitalized-after-match-dies/ar-AAq9PAj?OCID=ansmsnnews11 

Copyright August 16, 2017 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved