Boxing and MMA are brutal sports, and nobody knows those facts better than those who lace the gloves and dish out punishment while getting some. Such brutality is sometimes masked by the cheers of the adoring crowd, the taste of victory, or the bitterness of defeat. But every now and then, brutality always shows itself in more ways than one. It could be in the form of a career-ending injury, or worse, death.
The Angel of Death has always hovered over the ring, whether it is a square or an octagon. Last Sunday was supposed to be another kickboxing match for Adrienne Simmons. What the 34-year old Atlanta City-based kickboxer did not know was that it she was not going to see the light of day.
In the final stretch of a championship muay thai match sanctioned by the International Kickboxing Federation and held in Orland, Florida, Simmons received a fatal left hook to the head that sent her down to the canvas and ended the fight. Opponent Lindsay Scheer unleashed a three punch combo that rocked Simmons’ head.
Simmon’s brain swelled as a result of the impact.
What is really disturbing is that there was no ambulance standing by during the match, although a doctor and a team of paramedics immediately attended to Simmons after she was knocked out. Trainer Chike Ajuda said that it took an hour for the medical team to arrive and airlift the dying lady kickboxer from the venue to the Orlando Medical Center.
Ajuda further lamented that the delay of medical services have contributed to Simmons’ death.
‘Transportation took another 20 minutes,” Ajuda said, “which gave over an hour of time for the swelling of her brain to get to a point where there was little that doctors could do.”
Simmons died the following day. She is the first female fighter to have died as an immediate result of a fight-related injury.
Scheer wrote on her Facebook account that she was devastated and broken over what happened.
Ajuda, who also happened to be Simmons’ trainer blasted the organizers for pitting Simmons against an advanced-level fighter like Scheer.
Muay thai is a whole lot different from boxing. Muay thai fighters are allowed to use elbow and knee strikes to deliver blows aside from traditional punches and kicks. But the degree of risk and danger that comes with being a fighter remains the same.
Filipino boxer Z Gorres suffered the same fate when on November 13, 2009, Gorres got caught with a strong punch to the head from Luis Melendez at the dying seconds of the final round in a boxing match in Las Vegas. Gorres won by unanimous decision and was able to briefly celebrate before collapsing into a coma.
Gorres was immediately rushed to the hospital where he underwent several critical brain surgeries. The operations done on Gorres were a remarkable success and he is now fully healthy and on his way to full recovery.
Gorres and Simmons stand as a reminders that anything can happen in a professional bout and that adequate medical facilities and expert personnel are all that stand between life and death when men and women lace the gloves and fight for a living. Fight organizers should always make adequate and efficient medical services for fighters a paramount priority during fights.
Rest in peace, Adrienne Simmons.
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE GALANT FIGHTER ADRIENNE SIMMONS, YOUR DEATH IS NOT USELESS, FOR THAT EVERYBODY GOT THE WAKEUP CALL ESPECIALLY THE ORGANIZERS OF THAT DEADLY SPORT. GODBLESS YOUR SOUL.
this why this sh1t ai’nt sports.. they don’t know sh1t boxing that’s why they go to MMA. i invite everyone aspiring wanna be fighters to train in my gym..
this boxing and other contact sport should be banned. these sports seemed a softer version of the gladiator but actually boxers and fighters try to hurt their opponent as lethally as possible in the shortest possible time to score a win. there is no other way around it.
@Mayweather Sr.
You’re an arse-hole!