Poor Amir Khan…one thing that I don’t like about the popularity of combat sports, including the UFC, is how we kind of assume a fighter is fine after a KO and are ignorant to the potentially life-changing effects. A fighter definitely won’t leave the cage in the same neurological state as he entered it, that’s for sure.

Confusion, thowing-up, aggression are some of the short-term effects, permanent brain-damage can be a long term effect.

 
What to Eat After a KO / Fight

Image Source

The general rule is to avoid inflammatory foods such as gluten, alcohol, caffeine and sugar for at least 72 hours after a concussion – or a fight in general. This is to minimise the neurotransmitter “substance P“.

Consuming glutathione, in mice at least, has been shown to offset some of the damage caused by a concussion. You can buy ‘NAC powder’ which will boost glutathione levels in the body.
Turmeric has also been shown to offset some of the effects.
Other literature recommends:
Vitamin D – for it’s neuroprotective properties
Fish Oil – To reduce inflammation
Pineapple – For its bromelain content – a strong, natural anti-inflammatory.
Magnesium – For it’s anti-inflammatory properties.

What to Do
Get plenty of rest, again or the first 3 or 4 days. Recent research suggests that some light, LIGHT, no-contact exercise may in fact accelerated recovery from concussion.

Why Do some Fighters Have Good Chins, Whilst Others Don’t?
On a tangent slightly, and I’ll probably right another post on this, but having read some articles and studies it seems to boil down to:

Shape of the Jaw (and maybe, the Shoulders) – Not 100% on this one, but people with broader jaws and shoulders appear, to absorb shots better. e.g. Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Cabbage, Fedor, BJ Penn

Neck Strength – study here

Previous number of concussions / KOs 

A genetic ‘polymorphism’ known as Apolipoprotein E  – study here

“Carriers of all 3 APOE rare (or minor) alleles assessed in this study were nearly 10 times more likely to report a previous concussion and may be at a greater risk of concussion versus noncarriers”