• New York, Connecticut and Montana are the only states whose state athletic commissions do not sanction mixed martial arts. Alaska does not have such a legislative body.

• There have been only three documented deaths in the mixed martial arts cage since 1994. By comparison, more than 125 boxers have died as a result of injuries sustained in American rings since 1960.

• More than 55,000 Americans were treated in emergency rooms for football and hockey-related injuries in 2009, alone.

• Fewer than 30 percent of MMA fights are stopped because of strikes to the head, according to a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

• The American Medical Association issued a proclamation in 1996 that opposed ultimate ultimate fighting and encouraged states that had not yet banned it to do so. It reaffirmed those positions in 2006.

MMA: Maine’s Caged Craze

Sunday: A look at the growth of the sport in Maine and a look at the dangers.

• ‘We’re a fighting state’
• Getting hurt, playing hurt part of the game
• The Hot Corner: Making the change from the ring to the cage
• MMA: Still limited in some states
• By the Numbers: MMA Injuries

Coming Wednesday: The evolution of safety in the sport has helped it expand and maintain.

Coming April 28: Reasons for the sport’s popularity abound; and a look to the future.