A doctor who has supervised more than 200 mixed martial arts fights says his fellow doctors will accomplish nothing by trying to outlaw the controversial sport.
Dr. Shelby Karpman says banning MMA fights is not a solution, because the sport is so popular, the fights would continue regardless.
"The problem with banning MMA is that it would take the sport underground," Karpman told CTV's Canada AM Thursday from Edmonton.
"I don't think a ban would do anything to this sport; it's too mainstream and it generates too much money," he said.
With a ban, he argued, the fights would still go on, but wouldn't be medically supervised.
"You don't have paramedics at ringside; you don't have doctors at ringside. So if you want to talk about the number of injuries skyrocketing, this (ban) would be the recipe for it," he said.
On Wednesday, doctors gathered for the Canadian Medical Association's annual meeting voted in favour of calling for a ban on the combat sport that pits humans against one another in a caged ring.
Outgoing CMA president Dr. Anne Doig said it was the doctors' duty to speak out against the "deliberate violence" inherent in the sport. She said the doctors feel MMA is "an activity that leads to serious issues, including damage to people's brains."
"We are concerned when people engage in activities, the sole purpose of which is to pummel, kick, punch, scratch -- whatever methods they use, until either somebody is seriously hurt or injured, or somebody cries uncle and submits," Doig said.
MMA is a safe sport when properly supervised, Karpman contended, noting he's never seen anyone come close to dying in an MMA ring.
"From the number of incidents sustained, I don't think it's any more a rough sport than hockey or football," he said, adding that only a minority of fights end in a knockout or technical knockout.
Karpman noted that while hockey and football don't explicitly condone violence, "you'd never know it by watching the TV promotions, where the big hit in the fight is the name of the game."
Karpman said the best way to keep MMA fights safe is to sanction the matches and regulate them.
"I think, like with any sport, you work to make it safer," he said, noting that hockey and football have brought in lots of safeguards over the years, including bans on certain kinds of hits.
Mixed martial arts events are currently sanctioned in seven Canadian provinces. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently announced the fights would be allowed in Canada's most populous province, beginning in 2011.
He said at the time of the announcement that while some may not like the sport, Ontarians wanted a choice and that his government was allowing that choice.
A spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Consumer Affairs told CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss on Wednesday the province welcomes the CMA's input but has no plans to reverse course on MMA events.
The spokesperson said the province would adopt the rules that are in place in New Jersey, which are the most widely followed regulations governing the sport in North America.
It's expected that UFC, the sport's flagship organization, will stage a large event in Toronto in the coming months. The event will likely draw thousands and will be held at either the Rogers Centre or the Air Canada Centre.
Strict medical and safety rules will be observed during the events to ensure that any injuries are dealt with immediately, UFC officials say.
Recent UFC fights in Montreal and Vancouver have packed hockey arenas in both cities. The UFC has long been attempting to break into lucrative Ontario's market.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss
