A mixed martial arts fighter will die in Australia, the doctors' peak body says, after an athlete died after a  knock-out in Ireland.
US company Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest promoter of MMA, will bring another of its events to Australia in   November after it proved popular in Melbourne last year. 
But concerns about the safety of the sport have again come to the fore, after Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho was knocked out by Charlie "The Hospital" Ward in a fight in Ireland at the weekend and later died.
Stephen Parnis said an MMA fighter would inevitably be killed or left in a vegetative state in Australia - it was a matter of when, not if.
The Australian Medical Association vice-president said boxing, MMA and kick-boxing posed an unacceptable health risk to participants and anyone who paid to watch was complicit.
Parnis said other contact sports such as AFL and rugby were different, because their purpose was not to hurt members of the opposition team.
In those sports, rules could be modified to reduce the risk of concussion and players were often punished for hurting each other on purpose.
"The intent of [MMA] is to injure the opponent so they can't continue, often making them unconscious," he said.
Australian Ringside Medicine Association chairman Peter Lewis said horse riding, motorcycle racing and American football  were more likely to result in head injuries than martial arts and the AMA's condemnation of MMA was "snobbery".
He said doctors should respect the autonomy of people who chose to participate in combat sports, even if they were not to their personal tastes.
After working as a ringside doctor at about 20,000 fights over his career, Lewis said the injury rate did not justify a ban.
He said prohibition was rarely helpful and usually meant the practice was pushed underground.
Parnis rejected the idea that criticism of the sport was motivated by taste, or an example of the middle class sneering at a sport enjoyed by poorer people.
    The emergency department doctor said he grew up in Sunshine West with a "so-called working-class background" and had a relative who did kick-boxing, but he could not ignore the medical risks posed by those sports.
The brain was the most important part of the body and blows to the head and neck were damaging to the fragile, complex organ, he said.
"We can't tolerate young people having their brains beaten to a pulp for the gratification of others," he said.
Parnis said he felt strongly about protecting the brains of young athletes, who may be attracted to the money that violent contact sports could offer.
"I think that's all the more reason why we shouldn't be doing it," he said.
"You're more likely to put your head on the line if you're from a less-educated, affluent background."
The UFC is expected to announce within the next month the location of its next Australian event, likely to be Sydney or Melbourne.
Sport Minister  John Eren said the state government wanted all the major sporting events in Victoria.
"The blockbuster events mean jobs and growth that other cities can only dream of," he said.
Fairfax Media approached a representative for the UFC in Australia for comment but did not receive a response before deadline.