The premature passing of Sam Vasquez on Nov. 30 has incited both fans and observers to question whether everything possible is being done to ensure the health and safety of combat athletes.

One thing is for certain -- Vasquez's death will forever alter perceptions of the viscerally cruel sport. A sampling of how Sherdog.com readers are responding:

I am a fairly new person to the sport of MMA. I started training in jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai in September 2006. My mother-in-law hates the sport and says it's way too violent. The death of Sam Vasquez will not help in the argument that this is a safe sport.

I have been following the story online and was shocked to see he succumbed to his injuries when I opened up Sherdog.com on Sunday. I knew this would cause problems for weary mothers whose sons wanted to join " ultimate fighting" and teetering states thinking about sanctioning the sport.

Everyone who competes in full contact sports is well aware of the possible injuries that they can receive or inflict in the ring/cage. It was always just a matter of time before a death in MMA occurred. A lot of people getting into MMA will never hear of Sam Vasquez because he never fought in a big show, but athletic commissioners and state senators will.

Hopefully this death will have a more of a positive outcome than negative on the sport. - Aaron Mercer

It will be interesting to see how the tragedy influences inhospitable states like New York, and whether it will impact long-rumored addendums like knees to the ground and longer match durations.

Personally, I'd like to see a greater emphasis on neurological testing. When an athlete is licensed in Nevada, he's given an MRI to check for abnormalities and to establish a "baseline" for future examinations.

That's obviously commendable. But the problem is, follow-up MRIs are only scheduled when the fighter has suffered a severe trauma in the ring, or their age/lengthy career endorses it.

The policy doesn't take into account injuries sustained in practice. A fighter could, in theory, suffer a concussion or bruising on the brain in training and then go on to fight and risk substantial -- even life-threatening -- injury in the ring.

Vasquez's widow said she was told he had a pre-existing blood clot. Would an MRI immediately prior to the bout have saved his life? I wish that wasn't something we had to speculate on.

MRIs and MR angiography should be mandatory for every athlete stepping into the ring, each and every time. Is it expensive? I'm sure it is. But do commission members really want to assign value to a life? Tax the fat-cat fight promotions if you have to. I'd sooner see an athlete get a relevant bill of health over a promoter buying another Bentley.

[Re: a 12/03 editorial] You compare the infamous execution of Benny Paret with the unfortunate death of Sam Vasquez, disregarding the huge difference that is intention.

Combat sports have always been compared with violence. The fight itself looked upon, not as fair play and sportsmanship, but a result of negative emotions such as hate, anger, and envy: the lust for another human being's blood. For decades full contact sports have tried to prove that isn't the case, that a fight isn't emotional, not personal, not even about hurting anyone. It's the means, not the goal, to cause damage to your opponent. In the best-case scenario, no one gets hurt. Like "Shogun" Rua said, "Before each fight I pray that me and my opponent will get through the fight unharmed." Shogun still likes to win, but that does not mean he enjoys seeing his opponents injured or seriously hurt.

Emile Griffith made it personal. He was out to hurt Paret. His goal wasn't just to win the fight, but to cause as much damage as possible. Paret's death was no accident. It was the result of a man trying, successfully, to kill him.

Vince Libardi, who will forever be known as the man who killed his opponent in an MMA bout, should not be compared to Griffith. I believe Libardi, as well as fans and athletes, need to know there's a difference. - Andreas Bruzelius

My intention was certainly not to depict Libardi as a malicious fighter, and I regret that some readers may have interpreted it that way.

But feelings of animosity should be irrelevant to the health of an athlete. Some fighters have apathy for their opponent, while others need to demonize them to excel. In a safe environment, it shouldn't matter how they feel. This is a sport, not a felony. Should the referee of Griffith's fight be excused from his delayed reaction because Emile was angry?

Perhaps you guys could put up some sort of charitable donation fund for Vasquez's family (or a link to it if there already is one). Undoubtedly this is a tough time for them, and as callous as it may seem to be to be giving them money in a time of grief, it would likely help them to land on their feet from all of this. I'm normally the last person to go in for that kind of thing, as I'm not exactly a wealthy man, but something about this story has gotten to me, and I'd actually like to help them out in some way if I could be assured it would actually be going towards helping them and not lining an unrelated person's pockets. - Ryan Mifflen

The estate of Sam Vasquez will be setting up a charitable foundation in the coming weeks for anyone who would like to donate; overages may go toward families of future athletes who are seriously wounded or worse. I'm sure an address will make the Web rounds shortly.

I have a couple of questions. Seems Vasquez was off to a poor start professionally before the tragedy. Do you think MMA/UFC/whomever will work against the creation (inadvertent or otherwise) of "tomato cans," fighters who shouldn't be fighting and not sanction them?

Also … when a fighter is knocked out in the UFC, does he face a 30/60/90 day suspension/timeout? Just curious. - Tom Allen

Vasquez had split two bouts prior to meeting Libardi. At the age of 35, he was unlikely to ever experience competition at the elite level, but training partners insist he was taking the fight seriously and in appropriate condition. From all indications, he was not being thrown to the wolves.

Hosting bouts with a substantial skill/age/weight disparity obviously invites opportunity for greater injury; inexperienced fighters have weak defense and suspect constitutions, while older athletes typically have lethargic reflexes. (I still cringe at the idea of matching Ken Shamrock (Pictures) with Tito Ortiz (Pictures) three separate times.) It's a minor miracle that PRIDE, with its sadistic matchmaking policies, didn't maim anyone.

The length of time fighters are suspended from knockouts varies from 60-90 days.

When the MMA came to the surface here in Croatia, the do-gooders started bitching about it as a bloodsport that takes lives.

Of course, the Douglas Dedge case served as a thin branch they were hanging from. It is quite interesting to know that the medical statistics seem to rank MMA-like sports not on the top but more on the upper middle in the injuries pyramid. - Gordan Balenovic

The casual perception of MMA will always be that it's a bloodbath, regardless of the statistics thrown out. When news broadcasts vomit up 60 seconds' worth of bleeding, gashed faces and someone getting pummeled while facedown on the mat, it's inevitable.

You can sit and discuss things like grappling diluting the striking exchanges, lack of leverage while grounding and pounding, etc., but it's difficult to overcome those visuals. This sport will always have an image problem.

UFC vs. Sherdog, Round XVII

Although I had previously tried to ignore it, I must speak out regarding what appears to be a climate of anti-UFC bias prevalent within Sherdog. From micro-analyzing the words and actions of UFC brass to deriding the quality of cards to humor at the expense of individual fighters and more, Sherdog seems to devote a disproportionate amount of negative attention to this one organization.

What really struck me recently was Tim Leidecker's article regarding the proposed match between Fedor and Hong Man Choi (Pictures). Like most MMA fans, I was aghast when I heard of this. Many have even gone so far as to argue that the Russian no longer is worthy of his number one status. And I agree. This is a sideshow not worthy of a true champion and, just as credit must be given when due, I believe criticism is warranted here. Yet what readers got from Leidecker was a long-blown history of Japanese MMA and why fans should understand.

As I finished the article, I couldn't help but wonder, "Suppose Dana White had made the match-up between Fedor and Choi?" Somehow, I doubt that the tone of Sherdog articles would have been as forgiving. - Joon Suk Choi

If the UFC is willing to lap up the lion's share of media attention -- to the point they openly complain about other events receiving coverage -- then they should expect to embrace the majority of criticism. Assuming the promotion is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla, should we ignore it when they make a gorilla-sized mess on the carpet?

You'll find that most editorials in the sports pages aren't fawning over athletes, team owners or management. Being disgruntled is virtually a prerequisite for columnists. That's a hard emotion to suppress when a promotion can't even be bothered to make cursory mention of John McCarthy's exit from officiating -- this from the same company that brought us 90 minutes of Dana White shadowboxing.

But for what it's worth, I've directed my dopey blather at other promotions (Bodog Fight, ProElite … ) with regularity.

What I think is absurd is someone like Dana, who don't understand s--- of martial arts, speak about fighters as if he was an expert. Can someone who puts Evans vs. Bisping as a main event of UFC understand anything about fights or fighters?

How about using the f-word and disrespect fighters on TV like he does and call champions a farce and name TOP 5 as if he had the skills to evaluated a fighters knowledge, a guy who has never even won a Nintendo fight!!!

There is a philosophy about martial arts, a moral code between fighters and we can't let it disappear or be damaged by the UFC bad policy. We in Brasil miss PRIDE, not because of the show itself but because of the respect it had for fighters, for fans and for martial arts. - Sasha Reis

I don't think Dana will be confused for Sun Tzu anytime soon, but I'm not sure a blanket condemnation of the UFC is warranted. It's up to the fighter to determine the way he (or she) represents the martial arts.

And finally …

How does that Matt Serra (Pictures) story end, about the street fight he got into? - Ash

I had originally planned on ignoring pleas for that story's resolution, but requests keep clogging up my inbox. Since it's the holiday season …

"I must've been 19, so [brother Nick] was 15 but a skinny 15," Serra says. "I was on line for the Slingshot at Action Park. And this big juicehead decided to cut the line with his little bimbo girlfriend. It was me, the girl I was hanging out with, and my two brothers, Nick and Damien.

"Now, the guy cuts the line. Afterwards, some lady with her kids was like, ‘Line cutter!' So the guy told the lady, ‘F--- you, go f--- yourself.' I told him, ‘Hey, man, that ain't too polite.' Next thing you know, I see my skinny little 15-year-old brother go up to the guy and grab him by the shoulder. The guy turns around, and Nicky blasts him in the face. So then we squared off with the guy. He saw that there were three of us. We told him to pick one. His little 95-pound girlfriend started pushing the big juicehead away, and he'd kick things as he left. It was hysterical, because my brother was a twig at the time. The guy was like a f---in' Lou Ferrigno."

Warms the heart, doesn't it? Merry Christmas.

For comments, e-mail jrossen@sherdog.com