Sam Vasquez's death found to be fight related

**Odacon** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 7:28am

From MMAWeekly.com:

The cause of death for mixed martial arts fighter Sam Vasquez has been determined as a severe brain injury, as first reported by Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle.

The report listed that the statement from the medical examiner’s office indicated the 35-year-old fighter died of “complications from blunt trauma to the head with subdural hemorrhage.”

Vasquez passed away on Nov. 30 after a fight with Vince Libardi ended by knockout. Vasquez was hospitalized after the bout.

Following his admission to the hospital, Vasquez suffered a stroke and underwent several surgeries to try and alleviate the problems caused by the head trauma, but the fighter succumbed to the injuries and passed away.

Vasquez is survived by his wife and young son, and is the first MMA fighter to die from injuries sustained while in competition.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...6048&zoneid=13

TBH I couldn't care less about whether this will result in bad press or anything like that, I don't think it will anyway. I do hope it results in better and more widespread medical screening for fighters that might prevent something like this happening in future.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 9:04am

My condolences to his family. RIP. I do hope for better screening.

Do we know if this could have been avoided with better screening, or if the screening in place at the time of the bout, or is this one of those unfortunate cases when "**** happens"?

**Kintanon** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 9:15am

Either way anyone who points to this as being a sign that MMA is "too dangerous" is clearly a lunatic. 1 death in 15 years of organized matches is better than peewee football... More people are killed by swingsets every year.

**1bad65** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 9:18am

In Texas you need to get a EKG and an EEG once you are 36 to be cleared to fight. I wonder if they will lower the age now.

**Echo Unit** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 9:55am

How could pre-screening have prevented it?

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 10:58am

In my completely ignorant, out-of-my-ass guesstimation, a pre-screening could have shown a lession or something that could suggest danger. That is, it could show signs that the fighter has (or has not fully recovered, or is hiding) a condition more serious than a concussion.

Also, according to the good o'l wiki "For unknown reasons, having had one concussion significantly increases a person's risk of having another". Also, from wiki:

Second-impact syndrome, in which the brain swells dangerously after a minor blow, may occur in very rare cases. The condition may develop in people who receive a second blow days or weeks after an initial concussion, before its symptoms have gone away.

"Second-impact syndrome, in which the brain swells dangerously after a minor blow, may occur in very rare cases. The condition may develop in people who receive a second blow days or weeks after an initial concussion, before its symptoms have gone away."

I'm not saying that what happens to Vasquez (RIP), but a scan could help screen a potential for second-impact syndrome, if an underreported injury exists that, and **** like that. That would be my guesstimation.

**Ming Loyalist** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 11:41am

Originally Posted by Teh El Macho

I'm not saying that what happens to Vasquez (RIP), but a scan could help screen a potential for second-impact syndrome, if an underreported injury exists that, and **** like that. That would be my guesstimation.

i'm not going to argue that an MRI scan might be able to prevent deaths of this sort, however i think that the number of cases this sort of screening would help would be very small.

the problem would arise concerning who's going to pay for the scans. if they were required for UFC fights, then the UFC might cover them (maybe) however for smaller promotions they would never be able to pay for them. if they pass the cost onto the fighter, then no one will be able to fight.

i know when i have fought as an amateur i have had to provide my own medical screening at my own expense. now imagine if i needed to get an MRI in addition to that. who's going to pay? my insurance? for a PREVENTATIVE scan? just to see if something might be wrong, when there are no symptoms? no fucking way. it's a $1500-$2000 procedure, so they wouldn't approve it.

so my point is, even though there would be some value in pre-screening all fighters before their fights, it won't work from a financial point of view.

**1bad65** · Posted On: 4/09/2008 11:59am

Originally Posted by Ming Loyalist

the problem would arise concerning who's going to pay for the scans. if they were required for UFC fights, then the UFC might cover them (maybe) however for smaller promotions they would never be able to pay for them. if they pass the cost onto the fighter, then no one will be able to fight.

i know when i have fought as an amateur i have had to provide my own medical screening at my own expense. now imagine if i needed to get an MRI in addition to that. who's going to pay? my insurance? for a PREVENTATIVE scan? just to see if something might be wrong, when there are no symptoms? no fucking way. it's a $1500-$2000 procedure, so they wouldn't approve it.

so my point is, even though there would be some value in pre-screening all fighters before their fights, it won't work from a financial point of view.

Therein lies the problem. Good post.