The Lasting Effects of a Knockout

[BigBanda]

Found this interesting article on the effects of being knocked out. Has some great examples of people that have not been the same since they were KO'd.

Source: http://mmaontap.com

The Lasting Effects of a Knockout

I’ve been thinking about the lasting effects of taking a big KO. Now I’m not talking about medical conditions like post concussion syndrome (more on that later). I’m talking about the mental aspect of being knocked out. We’ve all heard how when you fall off a horse, you have to get right back on so you do not develop any fear. When you’ve been KO’d in a fight, its a much longer process before you can get “back on the horse” so to speak. Could that time off be pretty detrimental to the KO’d fighter? Let me explain.

Many people are saying how Wanderlei Silva didn’t look himself and fought completely differently than he normally does. Now I understand he may have been a bit sick (strep throat), but his interview on Sherdog was revealing. He talked about how he wanted to feel out Henderson in the first couple of rounds and see what he had. He said he wanted “see the fight in the 1st” and feel Dan’s power. He went on to say he figured he’d get the KO in the 4th or 5th round! Since when does the Axe Murderer take his time feeling out an opponent. His murderous aggression is famous and he barely gave opponents time to breath, much less feel them out. Now we must remember Silva’s last fight was a devastating KO from CroCop. Did that KO make Wanderlei a little more hesitant and defensive, as witnessed by his backing up during the fight with Hendo, something almost never seen before?

Rampage Jackson was an absolute monster. Until he met Wanderlei Silva that is. Since that devastating KO by Silva in their second fight, Rampage has not nearly been as aggressive as in the past. Three decision wins including the disputed one with Lindland, a KO loss to Shogun, a TKO of an overmatched Yokai, and a rather lackluster win (by his own words) over Eastman. Is he still tentative over taking a big shot? That is also why I might favor Liddell over Rampage at this point, regardless of the previous fight. But thats a thought for another day.
You could almost put Mike Tyson in this category. The KO loss to Buster Douglas was a devastating punch. Have we ever seen the sheer aggression of old Mike Tyson since that punch? I’ve seen every one of his fights, and to me the answer is no. Now I’m not saying that’s why Mike became such a clown/freak, but that KO might explain the tremendous drop in aggression, one of Tyson’s most effective tools in his youth.

Let’s go to hockey, a sport that also features some great fighters. Take a guy like Todd Fedoruk. Todd was the quintessential enforcer, always sticking up for his teammates. Then Todd suffered a devastating TKO and resulting broken orbital bone at the hands of Derek Boorgaard. Since returning to the lineup and fully cleared, Fedoruk has not been nearly the same enforcer, nevermind fighter. He stays very tight and is unwilling to open up as was his style prior to the KO. There are numerous other hockey players who I could point to as examples, but the point is made.

By the way, a small blurb on concussions. One of the things that helps make them so frustrating is a permanent side effect. After each concussion, even with a ful recovery, it becomes easier and easier to get concussed/KO’d again. In other words, once a guy gets KO’d he will never have quite the same chin as he once did. This may have also lead to Silva’s startling KO loss. I’m not saying Henderson does not hit like a truck, just adding to the thoughts.
Of course not all fighters who suffer a KO may have this happen to them, but there are a great number of examples if one looks back.

[Dork8503]

he fights dan again he gets ko'ed again, he fights someone with some more power in his next fight and gets ko'ed again thats really hard to come back from 3 ko losses, shit 2 will be, take a look at roy jones and his knock out from tarver his next fight he was to calm and layed back and went down again

[The Sundance Kid]

good read. But I think people are counting out Wandy too quick, he may never be the #1 LHW in the world again, but he is still one bad mother fucker that will CRUSH 99.9997% of the earths population, maybe more.

[CHUCKtheCHAMP]

Originally Posted by The Sundance Kid

good read. But I think people are counting out Wandy too quick, he may never be the #1 LHW in the world again, but he is still one bad mother fucker that will CRUSH 99.9997% of the earths population, maybe more.

i agree too, alot our counting wandy out now but i mean cmon he got koed by cro cop(wat lhw wouldnt) and got beat by hendo when he had strep throat...wandy is not gone by anymeans, if he takes some good time to recover i think hel cum back great... wandy has been the champ for so long he might have forgot wat it is to be hungry, i think hel be back with a vengance we havent seen out of wandy since the good old days...

[Salvy_Mic]

I keep saying, don't underestimate what a devastating KO can do to a great fighter's career. Wanderlei may not be that old, but for an MMA fighter, he has a lot of fights on his record, and a good portion of those were all out wars. The accumulation of blows to the head builds up, and the damage only speeds up when vicious KOs are suffered, especially when they're back to back.

I'm not a Wand fan per se, but I do acknowledge the fact that he's a true legend of MMA, and if such a thing existed, he'd be a first ballot hall of famer for an International MMA HOF. However, the first thing he needs to do is take a long, well-deserved break before he gets back in the ring again, at the very least. Afterwards, we may get to more properly gauge how much in the tank he's got (and he's probably got enough for a few more years). However, if I see Wand get viciously KO'd anytime within the next year, I think he needs to think about winding his career down before he suffers any long-lasting damage.

He's only human, despite all the action we've seen out of him. An MMA fighter becoming punch drunk for the rest of his life is not out of the question, and personally, I don't want to see any fighter end up like Muhammad Ali, Meldrick Taylor, or Gerald McClellan.

[Harlem]

Originally Posted by Salvy_Mic

I keep saying, don't underestimate what a devastating KO can do to a great fighter's career. Wanderlei may not be that old, but for an MMA fighter, he has a lot of fights on his record, and a good portion of those were all out wars. The accumulation of blows to the head builds up, and the damage only speeds up when vicious KOs are suffered, especially when they're back to back.

I'm not a Wand fan per se, but I do acknowledge the fact that he's a true legend of MMA, and if such a thing existed, he'd be a first ballot hall of famer for an International MMA HOF. However, the first thing he needs to do is take a long, well-deserved break before he gets back in the ring again, at the very least. Afterwards, we may get to more properly gauge how much in the tank he's got (and he's probably got enough for a few more years). However, if I see Wand get viciously KO'd anytime within the next year, I think he needs to think about winding his career down before he suffers any long-lasting damage.

He's only human, despite all the action we've seen out of him. An MMA fighter becoming punch drunk for the rest of his life is not out of the question, and personally, I don't want to see any fighter end up like Muhammad Ali, Meldrick Taylor, or Gerald McClellan.

Or Riddick Boe, Tommy Hearns, and Joe Frazier. Well said, I agree, but I think that's it for him. He's never be the same. Those were not just knock downs, those were knock Outs!!!! Roy Jones style, and look at him.

Sorry to say it, but Wand is finished

[Dork8503]

i still dont think wandy was sick but oh well, i dont think he will be the champ again, well in pride, because i dont think pride will give him the rematch, i think shogun will get it and i dont see wandy beating shogun, i see shogun tkoing wandy, would love to see the wandy chuck fight right now, wandy would again be knocked out

[johnny Boom]

This puts a spin/damper on the wole Chuck vs Wand debat now. Will Wand ever be 100% again (aggresiveness) and if they ever do fight (doubtful) Chuck KO's Wand and everyone will say Wand wasn't the same and it somehow doesn't count becase it wasn't the old Wand. Personally I don't think Wand will ever be the same fighter he was after two devastating KO ecspecially after KO'd by a fighter fom a lower weight class not taking anything way from Hendo. Unfotunatly Wand is done.