Maxillofacial Trauma in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

PURPOSE

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial art (MMA) company. This study aims to characterize patterns and trends of maxillofacial injuries in MMA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study design is a retrospective cohort study. Study sample consisted of fighters that suffered injuries during the matches from January 2015 to December 2019 (N = 259). The Athletic Commissions and corresponding fighting regulatory departments from 16 states and 24 countries were screened for medical reports released by UFC ringside physicians. Predictor variables were sex, weight division, injury location, injury type, and fight outcome (i.e., Technical Knockout/Knockout, Submission, Decision). Primary outcome variables were need for medical suspension and duration of medical suspension, secondary outcome variable was frequency of injury. Chi-square test was used to determine any statistical significance between predictor variables. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine any statistically significant differences between medical suspension times, sex, injury location, type of injury, weight divisions and fight outcome throughout the years. P value less than .05 (95% confidence interval [CI]) was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 259 fighters suffered injuries. Of the 319 total injuries, 291 (91.2%) occurred in male fighters, and 28 (8.8%) in females. Middle facial third injuries were the most common for both males and females; lower facial third injuries were proportionally similar. The male weight division with the longest medical suspensions were the light heavyweight (110.68 days) and welterweight (108.25 days) (P < .10166); the female weight division with the longest medical suspension was strawweight (88.92 days) and shortest was bantamweight (81.75 days) (P < .921123).

CONCLUSIONS

Upper and midface trauma was predominant with fractures concentrated in the light heavyweight and welterweight divisions. Medical suspensions duration were longer in the light heavyweight and welterweight divisions.