I suppose it was inevitable, but some are suggesting in the wake of last night’s fantastic WEC 41 main event between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber that the broken right hand (and undetermined left hand injury) of Faber was the difference maker in last night’s affair. Specifically, that Faber likely would’ve won had it not been for the injury. There are several major problems with this analysis, so let’s unpack them here:
1. Historical precedence. The first and most notable problem with the idea that Faber’s hand is an excuse for the loss is that it doesn’t cohere with how these types of injuries affect outcomes in professional MMA. The reality is that hand breaks are very common and often fighters in high pressure situations (e.g. title fights) still find themselves with no alternative but to fight on. The examples of this are endless. The night before WEC 41, Joe Riggs continued to fight Phil Baroni despite cleanly breaking both hands. Let’s not forget Rich Franklin broke his hand (the hand itself, not the fingers) against David Loiseau yet not only won the fight, but continued to punch with the broken hand for the remainder of his five round fight.
Broken hand does not explain the loss
I suppose it was inevitable, but some are suggesting in the wake of last night’s fantastic WEC 41 main event between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber that the broken right hand (and undetermined left hand injury) of Faber was the difference maker in last night’s affair. Specifically, that Faber likely would’ve won had it not…
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