Nieky Holzken reveals his steps in trying to avoid CTE 

ONE lightweight kickboxing contender Nieky Holzken is well aware of the pitfalls that come from being a professional fighter.

Perhaps the biggest concern of them all is a fighter’s long-term health and well-being upon retirement.

While ‘The Natural’ has had his fair share of battle scars from his countless wars over the years, he admits that he’s also wary of his cognitive health.

Ahead of his return at ONE Fight Night 11 against Arian Sadikovic, the Dutch fan-favorite hopped on a recent Reddit AMA session and entertained questions on a slew of topics.

But perhaps the most interesting one came from user @ModsBannedMyMainAcct, who wanted him to address the elephant in the room:

“Do you ever get concerned about the long-term impacts [of] fighting, specifically the possibility of CTE?”

Here’s Holzken’s answer:

“Haha, no I don’t think about it, and when I quit fighting I’ll also quit sparring. I did [a] million rounds of sparring.”

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head injuries and constant blows to the head.

Forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu brought this to the public in 2005, using his initial study covering athletes from the National Football League (NFL).

Then again, given the full-contact nature of combat sports, professional fighters are also extremely susceptible to this brain disease.

Fighters get hit in the head for a living not just during their matches, but also from hours and hours of sparring in training behind closed doors.

Even Holzken, who’s a veteran of the fight game, said he will no longer spar once he decides to hang up his gloves for good.

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old appears as healthy and sharp as ever, as he looks to re-assert his name to the short-list of contenders for the lightweight kickboxing crown by beating Sadikovic.

ONE Fight Night 11 is available free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.