The wear and tear a hard-fought combat sports career has on the brain been evident almost as long as modern combat sports have been a major source of entertainment. Stories of former champions becoming ‘punch drunk,’ losing motor skills, and having trouble speaking clearly or remembering details go back all through the 20th century, long before more the more formal diagnoses of CTE and traumatic brain injury.
Every athlete that chooses to make a long career out of fighting has to face the potential that they could end up carrying the damage of their craft for the rest of their lives, well after they’ve decided to stop competing.