17. Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 4 gladiator fights ended in one fighter dying – so in most cases, both men made it out alive
How risky was being a gladiator? According to most historians, a typical gladiator’s ‘career’ lasted a matter of months, or even a few years. Most died in their mid-20s. Analyzing the remaining records, most historians agree that somewhere between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10 of all gladiatorial bouts ended in one of the fighters dying. That means in the majority of cases, both men made it out of the arena alive. Since it took money to train and then house gladiators, this was the ideal outcome for slave owners, and many trainers even instructed their men to wound rather than to kill.