Oral and Maxillofacial Injuries in the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Abstract Purpose The Ultimate Fighting Championship is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, NV, and it is the largest MMA company in the world featuring the best fighters in the sport. It showcases 12 weight divisions and acknowledges the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The purpose of this study was to characterize the types of maxillofacial injuries that occur in MMA fights of the UFC and the variables associated with them. Materials and methods: The Athletic Commissions and corresponding fighting regulatory departments from 16 states and 24 countries were screened for the medical reports released by UFC ringside physicians between January 2015 and December 2019. Information from the fighter's sex, weight, injuries, way of finish, and medical suspension time were collected. The chosen predictor variables were sex, weight division, injury location, and way of finish (i.e., technical knockout [TKO], knockout [KO], decision, and submission). The chosen outcome variables were frequency, medical suspension time, and type of injury (lacerations, fractures). Chi-square test was used for trend to determine if there was any statistical significance between sex, injury location, weight division, and way of finish. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether there are any statistically significant differences between frequencies, medical suspension time, and type of injuries. Results: Of the 319 injuries that met the inclusion criteria, 291 (91.2%) occurred in male fighters, and 28 (8.8%) occurred in females. Middle-third injuries were the most common for both males (49.1%) and females (53.5%). Male lower-third injuries were proportionally similar in males (8.3%) and females (7.1%); however, 14 mandible fractures occurred in men's fights, while none occurred in women's matches. A significant association between sex and injury location (P