Ask the Fight Doc: Could blowing his nose really cause Demian Maia’s eye to swell?

Dr. Johnny BenjaminDuring this past weekend’s UFC 112 event in the Middle East, UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan suggested headliner Demian Maia’s badly swollen eye could have been the result of the fighter blowing his nose between round.

But is this longtime combat-sports belief based in any reality?

In his latest installment of “Ask the Fight Doc,” MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin discusses Valsalva maneuvers and what MMA fighters, fighter pilots and even a bathroom user have in common.


Dr. Johnny BenjaminDuring this past weekend’s UFC 112 event in the Middle East, UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan suggested headliner Demian Maia’s badly swollen eye could have been the result of the fighter blowing his nose between round.

But is this longtime combat-sports belief based in any reality?

In his latest installment of “Ask the Fight Doc,” MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin discusses Valsalva maneuvers and what MMA fighters, fighter pilots and even a bathroom user have in common.