Randy Couture's cauliflower ear
Having watched a lot of reruns of The Ultimate Fighter recently, I have to say that I am fascinated by the hypertrophic and distracting flesh often found on the sides of MMA fighters and wrestlers known as the "cauliflower ear". I was intrigued enough to do my homework (read: looked it up on Wikipedia) where I made an interesting discovery. I had assumed that the enlarged, puffy ears were simply a function of constant irritation of the ear due primarily to grappling, and that was partly true. In fact, what happens, apparently, is that small blood vessels in the ear are blown and bleed due to repetitive trauma, which causes the cartilage of the ear to be deformed and the skin to separate from the cartilaginous part of the ear. The underlying cartilage is separated from its blood supply and fibrous tissue grows in the region of trauma, resulting in the "cauliflower ear". The fibrous tissue is really just connective tissue that lacks a definitive function and only forms because something has to form there. The ear cannot be returned to a normal appearance without surgery, which clearly, a professional fighter or other athlete who will likely continue to be exposed to the same or similar trauma is unlikely to get. Check out a few examples of cauliflower ear and reconsider your dreams of auditioning for The Ultimate Fighter and one day entering the ring against GSP!
A cauliflower ear that has been worsened by new trauma. Shigeyuki Uchiyama.
James Thompson's cauliflower ear before his match-up with Kimbo Slice.
James Thompson post-Kimbo Slice
