Do Chicks Really Dig Cauliflower Ears?

Today's New York Times notes how the popularity of mixed martial arts has created a new fashionable trend; the cauliflower ear.

Many MMA practitioners, including kids, look up to elite fighters like B.J. Penn and Randy Couture, and admire the toughness that's reflected from their ears. Some fighters consider the cauliflower ear a badge of honor and prevent treatment in favor of nurturing the deformity.

Others consider it a rite of passage.

"It's man's ear" said Nisar Loynab, 15, who trains at Capital Jiu-Jitsu in Alexandria, Va. "When you get cauliflower, you're really a man."

But can you pick up girls if you're sporting a cauliflower ear?

"It's definitely part of the culture," said Dr. John H. Park, a physical therapist in Rockville, Md., who specializes in treating M.M.A. participants. They say, 'Chicks dig that stuff because they know you're a fighter.'"

Something to consider if you're a struggling pick up artist.

And for the rest who have a cauliflower ear fetish, here are a couple of videos devoted to the subject:

Cauliflower Ear Segment on Inside the UFC.


How to Fix a Cauliflower Ear.

M.M.A.'s Macho Badge of Honor - Deformed Ears (NY Times)