Joe Rogan threatens the safety of MMA fighters as UFC commentator and Royce Gracie legalize 'back of the head' blows

In the world of mixed martial arts, injuries are more common than people think. One of his common but serious injuries is from a blow to the back of the head of a fighter. Joe Rogan and royce gracie We recently talked about the legality of punching someone in the back of the head during a fight. They agreed on the risk factors, but noted that the rules governing visibility of blows to the back of the head are two-sided.

Logan talks a lot about his head injury. One of his stories came from the podcaster's own battles. However, when referring to the blows to the back of the fighter's head, the podcaster and his guest revealed some invisible threats.

Joe Rogan and Royce Gracie talk about combatant safety from head blows

During a conversation on episode #156 of the JRE MMA Show, Logan and Gracie mentioned the risk of injury if they were hit in the back of the head. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert admitted he understood the rules protecting the nape of a fighter's neck, but disagreed with them. Soon after, Logan followed suit.

JRE host said“I don't agree with that either. Also, I get hit in the back of the head a lot, so it's weird that I can't hit the back of the head. Especially with head kicks, it's often an accident.'' Logan went on to describe the situation when a kick to the head wrapped around the nape of the neck and knocked the fighter unconscious. UFC color commentators couldn't understand why such a KO was acceptable and a punch to the back of the head was not.

he continued, “Okay. And that's a legal KO. That's crazy! But it doesn't make any sense to take someone to the ground and punch them in the back of the head and then the referee takes away the point and tells them to stand up…” The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend agreed with Logan, but all he wanted to say was let it all go.

Deliberate blows to the back of the head are punishable in this sport. However, if a fighter ducks under the punch or tries to roll away from the punch, the blow may land in the back of the head. UFC 302 Main Event Stars dustin poirier That would be a perfect example. Lost by KO conor mcgregor At UFC 178, Poirier was caught with a shot that grazed the back of his head.

Fast forward to 2023 and “The Diamond” has fallen victim to a head kick. Justin Gaethje At the BMF title match. Replays showed Gaethje's foot slipped through Poirier's defense and wrapped around the back of his head. However, these were not intentional blows, but happened by chance. Incidents like Pritchard-Colon's are the worst-case scenario for why intentional blows to the back of the head remain illegal. But Logan himself is no stranger to such things. In fact, it was a similar blow that forced him to quit martial arts.

Logan once put an opponent to sleep with a blow to the head.

Although the popular 56-year-old podcaster no longer competes, he was once a promising taekwondo athlete. However, after an accident, he quit competitive striking and entered the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you've guessed it already, congratulations! That's because he did indeed put one of his opponents to sleep with a kick to his head.

In one of the previous episodes of JRE, Logan shared his experience at the US Open Taekwondo tournament when he was only 19 years old. He recalled how he hit his opponent with a foot-stomping roundhouse kick. A kick caught him in the head and he was running to attack Logan. The podcaster further narrated:He was unconscious for 30 minutes. They put him on a stretcher. he was watching. He never got off that stretcher. They took him to the hospital. ”

After this incident, Logan retired from martial arts. However, his love for the art form glued him to the realm of combat. What do you think about the rule to protect the back of a fighter's head? Let us know in the comments below.