The 16 Most Dangerous Sports, Ranked

How Is It Played? In modern American bull riding, a competitor climbs on top of a bull, uses one hand to grip a rope tied around the bull, and puts their free hand in the air. An attendant pulls a flank strap, which is another rope attached to the bull’s sensitive underbelly, and which enrages the bull and prompts it to buck. The rider attempts to hold on for eight seconds, and if they do so without falling or touching the bulk with their free hand, a panel of judges assigns scores. To date there’s only been one perfect 100 score in American bull riding history, achieved by Wade Leslie in 1991.

What Makes It So Risky? Bull riding is known as “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports” for a reason. Simply put, a human being is trying to ride an animal that can weight up to 2,000 pounds and is trying everything possible not to allow said human to do that. Bull riders risk being flung off the bull as well as being trampled by it or injured by its horns. 

Most Common Major Injury: A Canadian study found that roughly 20 in every 100,000 rodeo contestants can expect a “catastrophic injury,” which is classified as an injury causing either death or a permanent life change. By comparison, American football players have a 1 in 100,000 chance. The same study found that professional bull riding caused 16 deaths between 1989 and 2009. 

How Is It Played? “Mountain Climbing” is self-explanatory. You simply climb a mountain, using a kit of gear that includes ropes, a belay device, carabiners, a helmet, a harness, climbing shoes, and chalk. With “Free Soloing,” you’re also climbing a mountain, but with only shoes and chalk. 

What Makes It So Risky? Mountain climbers ascend heights that are dozens if not hundreds of feet high, and the risk of falling is great. That’s even more true for free soloing, as much of the aforementioned climbing gear is designed to prevent that exact possibility. Also, unless you’re using an indoor rock climbing wall, adverse weather conditions make either sport much more dangerous. 

Most Common Major Injury: Any time you fall at least 16 feet, your risk for fractures in the extremities, the pelvis, and the head and neck, goes up. Setting aside the obvious injuries caused by falls, both mountain climbers and free soloists often have to contend with stress-related injuries. Rotator cuff strains and tears are common due to amount of time climbers spend with their arms elevated above their heads, supporting their weight and pulling themselves upwards. 

How Is It Played? Unlike skydiving, in which a skydiver jumps out of a plane, a BASE jumper jumps off a fixed object like a mountain or a building. They then use either a parachute or a wing-suit to slow their descent for a (hopefully) safe landing. Part of the thrill is that a BASE jumper has so little time to deploy their chute or suit before it’s too late. 

What Makes It So Risky? To be fair, BASE jumping isn’t quite like other extreme sports, because BASE jumpers usually have about 10 regular skydives under their belts before attempting one, thereby self-selecting out the “amateur” factor. Even so, about one in 254 BASE jumps results in injury, while about one in 2,317 is fatal. 

Most Common Major Injury: “Death” isn’t really an injury, but it’s a common-enough outcome of this sport. This is another extreme sport with a high fatality rate, with BASE jumping being between five and eight times deadlier than skydiving. Those lucky enough to survive an accident can still expect severe bodily trauma. 

How Is It Played? Often played inside an octagon, mixed martial arts allow two fighters to use a variety of fighting styles to battle each other. These include boxing, jiu-jitsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, taekwondo, karate, kickboxing, and judo. Combatants can score a victory either by literal knockout, technical knockout, or points. 

What Makes It So Risky? All combat sports are dangerous, but MMA is actually less dangerous than the other most popular combat sport, boxing. When compared with boxing, it features lower rates of knockouts, serious injury, and death. This is due to both safety measures implemented by the sport’s governing body as well as smaller pads for the hands, which offer less protection and thus discourage full-force strikes. 

Most Common Major Injury: The most common and most visible injury in MMA is facial lacerations, which account for 47.9 percent of all injuries. Otherwise, MMA fighters have to contend with fractures, dislocations, ligament damage, and concussion, albeit at a lower rate than in boxing and many other sports. 

How Is It Played? Two boxers wearing padded gloves trade a variety of punches to the face, head, and body. In professional men’s boxing, boxers compete for 12 rounds of three minutes each, with a one-minute rest in between. Boxers can win in three ways: knockout, technical knockout, or via a three-judge panel score. 

What Makes It So Risky? Boxing is an inherently dangerous sport, as the two combatants’ literal goal is to inflict damage on each other with punches to the point of unconsciousness. Modern boxing in particular is more dangerous due to its padded gloves, which protect boxer’s hands and allow them to throw the hardest punches possible. Even if a boxer is wearing headgear during sparring, this increases the risk of traumatic brain injury. 

Most Common Major Injury: Besides the lacerations, bruises, broken ribs, lost teeth, and boxer’s fractures, boxers have some of the highest rates of concussion in all of sports, which leads to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. One often-cited study of boxers who competed from the 1930s to the 1950s found that 17 percent showed signs of CTE. 

How Is It Played? Ten teams made up of 20 drivers compete in a series of races that take place on 23 different tracks around the world. Races take place over three days, with a series of practices and qualifying runs leading up to the final race, usually held on a Sunday. Teams are then awarded points based on where they finish in the race, with the biggest seasonal point getter being named the champion. 

What Makes It So Risky? Obviously, it’s dangerous to drive any car, much less race them - crashing a vehicle traveling at high speeds is almost always going to lead to injury. But F1 races are especially fast, with cars reaching speeds of up to 223 mph. Overall, 52 drivers have died in FIA World Championship events since the 1950s, although it’s much safer today than it was back then. 

Most Common Major Injury: Aside from crash-specific injuries, the most common injuries for F1 racers are due to the high amount of G-forces they’re subjected to. These can include whiplash, neck and back strains, rotator cuff injuries, and injuries to the hands and wrist.