I agree about the stoppage and pointing out the obvious self-interest shown by the boxing promoter. But I think you're confusing toughman contests (competitions open to all comers who slug it out, often with no rules, usually in a bar) with strongman contests (like they show late at night on ESPN).

That fight really was no safer than boxing. Lesnar was sitting there pounding away on Couture's head for far too long. The fight should have been stopped sooner. Instead, Mario let Lesnar wail with full force on Couture's head. A punch has more force and power while kneeling hitting down than a standing punch does.

On the boxing issue, I'm backing Mark on this one. Let's look at a few facts. A pro boxing match is 36 minutes long. MMA is 15 (championship matches are 25). Boxing has the standing eight count, which means a boxer can be knocked down and concussed and still be required to fight. Boxers swing 16 ounce gloves versus 5 ounces in MMA-that's a full pound in each hand being swung with full force. A boxer has only one objective-pummel his opponent in the head and body. MMA fighters have the option of the takedown so they don't even have to throw a punch (I have seen plenty of fights that have consisted solely of grappling). The record number of punches landed in a pro boxing match is 555. In MMA it's less than 150. It has been proven that cumulative head trauma is present in almost all boxers from the sheer numbers of blows to the head they receive. Over two hundred boxers have died in the ring. In sanctioned MMA, only one has. The numbers don't lie. MMA is safer. I wrote all about this in my book "Title Shot: Into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts" That's a shameless self-promotion, but I spent a lot of time researching it, so I might as well take a little credit.

You're an idiot Chad. The danger in boxing comes from deprivation of oxygen to the brain, causing it to swell...which becomes potentially dangerous after multiple blows with a glove that is much heavier, covers much more surface area, that comes from a fighter with a much more singular mindset of simply punching and blocking and ducking. Don't post stupid comments.

That particular fight was dangerous because the referee was intent on not erring on the side of caution. It appeared to me that Randy was pretty much out after the first blow he received from Lesnar while on the canvas. For the duration of the 30-something hammer blows and jabs it was abundantly obvious that Couture could not mount an intelligent defense and was not going to be able to recover. I'm sure when Randy starts to suffer from Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia prematurely, senseless beatings like that will have been the cause.