umm no you need to actually think things through and us logic not wishful thinking, at higher levels they wear less protective gear because they are BETTER fighters with BETTER defensive skills and BETTER conditioned to withstand blows, it has nothing to do with ethics or self control,
And its the same in ALL combat sports including MMA, someamature events use shin guards, head guards and limit strikes on the ground, in boxing they also use headguards in amature events