The Department of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore conducted a study of mixed martial arts injuries from March 2002 to September 2007. Details of that investigation:

• 635: Number of fights examined
• 300: Number of the 1,270 participants (23.6 percent) who sustained a documented injury
• 3 percent: Percentage of fights studied in which at least one of the fighters sustained a concussion

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: Did You Know?
• MMA: Still limited in some states

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.