"You would say that it would be the opposite" - Donald Trump comments on boxing recording deaths than 'more dangerous' UFC / MMA

Former US President Donald Trump is surprised at the number of casualties that occur in boxing compared to MMA. Boxing is generally perceived as a less damaging sport than MMA which involves a diverse array of lethal techniques like kicks to the head and elbows. However, boxing experiences a significantly higher number of casualties as a direct result of injuries sustained in the fight.

While speaking about these unfortunate occurrences in an interview with Matt Serra and Jim Norton, Donald Trump shared his opinion on the potential reasons for these casualties. He said:

“What surprises me if you look at the casualties, and I mean literally casualties, boxing has many more. I don’t know if the UFC has ever had a death but boxing has had numerous and you would say that it would be the opposite but it’s not the opposite.”

Donald Trump drew attention to a hypothesis that boxers attract far too many blows to the head compared to MMA. However, he personally feels that MMA is certainly a more ‘dangerous looking’ sport than boxing.

“Look, this is not a safe sport that you guys [MMA fighters] are in, but it’s safer than boxing which is shocking,” Trump added.

You can watch Donald Trump discuss the topic from the 19:15 mark of the video below:

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A statistical comparison between casualties in MMA and boxing in light of Donald Trump's comments

Athletes competing in combat sports like boxing and MMA put their health on the line to entertain the audience every time they step inside the cage or ring. Even a single death is unfortunate, but it is one of the potential outcomes given the nature of these sports.

MMA is a relatively new sport that has been around for less than five decades. As of 2019, there have been seven recorded deaths in sanctioned MMA contests and nine in unsanctioned/unregulated fights. None of these deaths have occurred in premier organizations like UFC, ONE FC, Bellator, or erstwhile Pride and StrikeForce, to name a few.

According to a CNN report in 2019, an average of 13 boxers have died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the ring from the year 1890. In May 2023, 22-year-old Filipino boxer Kenneth Egano collapsed after the fight and passed away soon after.

Boxing has a much longer history than MMA and has been around when medical science was not advanced enough to save fighters who could otherwise be saved. But it is essential to pay more attention to enhancing athlete safety to ensure no deaths occur in any of these sports.