With the number of full-time fighters at an all-time high last year, thanks to an overall increase in fighter pay and an influx of new promotions of all sizes around the world, one of the bi-products of the MMA boom is an increase in serious injuries sustained by fighters in both training and competition.
As mixed martial artists become bigger, better, stronger and faster, they require equally matched training partners to hone their skills against in the gym. As a result, they find themselves 'competing' as hard on the mats as they do in the cage, which is naturally leading to various levels of injuries.
You often hear fighters say they never go into a fight 100% healthy, which is not an overstatement when you see the intensive training regimens they go through for six- to eight-week spans, anywhere from one to five times each calendar year – depending on their success and popularity. On many occasions a fighter who went into a fight with an injury hides the impediment from his or her opponent until after the fight is over so as not to tip off a foe to the weakened area. Unfortunately, the tactic backfires more often than not as it is perceived as an excuse, rather than full disclosure after the fact.
Since most of the major injuries – except for the common ones like cuts, abrasions and bruises – happen outside of the cage, when serious ones do occur, they tend to draw a lot of attention.
One of the most talked about injuries occurred in UFC 140 when, with an expertly applied kimura, Frank Mir inflicted a painful arm break on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The pop of the break drew gasps from the crowd – the majority of whom watched through white-knuckle finger slits as replays were shown on jumbo screens.
Nogueira’s surgeon, Dr Tom Hackett explained on the fighter’s blog: “Mr Nogueira suffered a complex fracture to his humerus. The fracture began in the middle of the bone and extended to the elbow region. Unfortunately, the radial nerve [one of the main nerves lending a feeling of power to the hands] was damaged. The operation involved an incision behind the arm. The nerve was removed from the location of the fracture and treated.
“The fracture was fixed with a plate and 16 screws, and now, less than 12 hours post-op, his hand functions are returning and the bone is mending.”
Aesthetically too, the fracture looked nasty - but thanks to medical science ‘Big Nog’ returned to the cage within a year, defeating Dave Herman by armbar submission in UFC 153.
Nogueria’s injury, although certainly gruesome, was hardly the worst in MMA history. There have been other more severe ones that fighters have lived through to tell the tale about and returned to compete.
Just because an injury looks bad, it doesn’t mean it will spell the end of your career as a fighter. Don’t believe us? Here are six other terrible freak injuries sustained by professional fighters whilst in competition that may change your mind.
SUPER SIX FREAK OCTAGON INJURIES
1: COREY HILL BREAKS HIS LEG
Event: UFC Fight Night 16: Fight For the Troops I
Date: December 10 2008
Widely considered the worst injury in MMA history, largely due to the fact it was in the world’s premier promotion, and it was attended by tons of press. The images of Hill’s still moving leg milliseconds after it was broken after it connected with Dale Hartt’s kneecap are a test of any man’s stomach.
When they were first released, message boards lit up with comments from naysayers who felt certain the images were fakes, since his leg looked like it was cropped from a snapshot of bendy superhero Mr Fantastic.
After laying awake staring at his damaged leg all night in the hospital while he awaited surgery the next morning, Hill vowed to stop feeling sorry for himself. Ignoring three doctor’s opinions he would likely never walk limp-free, let alone fight again, Hill would not be deterred and made his triumphant return to the cage 13 months later, in January 2010, decisioning Jason Trzewieczynski at Raging Wolf VI: Mayhem in the Mist.
2: SHINYA AOKI BREAKS MIZUTO HIROTA’S SHOULDER
Event: Dynamite!! 2009
Date: December 31, 2009
After taking the back of his opponent and tying up his arms so as to make a tap impossible, Aoki viciously wrenched Hirota’s arm behind his back until an audible snap prompted a referee’s stoppage. He then immediately leapt to his feet, stuck out his tongue and flipped Hirota off.
Following reconstructive surgery, Hirota reinjured his shoulder a few months later in training and was sidelined for a few more months while he recuperated. He was away from the sport for 20 months, but defeated Katsunori Kikuno by unanimous decision in his return in August to win the Deep lightweight title.
3: JOSE ‘PELE’ LANDI-JONS SNAPS HIS OWN LEG
Event: TKO 32
Date: February 28 2008
After an even opening round, Pele connected with Brian Gassaway’s kneecap early in the second with one of his trademark leg kicks. Not realizing he’d broken his tibia and fibula, the Chute Boxe vet attempted to step back and collapsed when the dangling mass of skin and bones wouldn’t hold his weight. After being pulled off Pele, who was slumped against the cage, Gassaway noticed the injury and, sickened by the sight, he stared in disbelief while pacing the cage.
Always the consummate warrior, Pele smiled and high-fived fans as he was wheeled out to a awaiting ambulance. He underwent surgery the next day to install a titanium plate and a steel rod to hold the limb together. Both appliances are still in place. The Pride vet, whose biggest win came against Matt Hughes, was back in the gym hobbling around on crutches the following week. He fought 17 months later, KO'ing Shannon Ritch in just eight seconds under the King of the Cage banner.
4: MARK COLEMAN BREAKS MAURICIO RUA’S ARM
Event: PRIDE 31
Date: February 26, 2006
Just 49 seconds into their Pride 31 bout Coleman slammed Rua onto the canvas with a double-leg takedown. ‘Shogun’ attempted to break his fall by posting on his arm, but the weight and the force of the slam was too much, as it fractured and dislocated his elbow. Bad blood boiled over from a past feud between the pair’s respective Hammer House and Chute Boxe camps when ‘The Hammer’ aimed a few shots at his downed opponent before the referee stepped in and a brawl immediately erupted between members of both teams, most notably Phil Baroni and Wanderlei Silva.
Rua returned six months later to defeat Cyrille Diabate at Pride Final Conflict Absolute. And he avenged the loss to Coleman three years later at UFC 93 in a back-and-forth war that earned both men ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus checks.
5: SERIAL ARM BREAKER FRANK MIR SNAPS TIM SYLVIA’S RADIAL BONE
Event: UFC 48
Date: June 19, 2004
While facing submission specialist Mir for the vacant UFC heavyweight strap, Sylvia got caught in a quick armbar just 50 seconds into the bout as he pressed forward with a combination. He refused to tap, but when referee Herb Dean witnessed his hyper-extended elbow, then the forearm visibly and audibly snap, he called an end to the bout to save ‘The Maine-iac’ from incurring any further damage.
Sylvia, not wanting to admit defeat, denied he was injured and pleaded with Dean to restart the bout, to no avail. Six months after surgery to install several pins into the pair of broken bones he suffered in the bout, Sylvia returned to defeat Wes Sims by first-round TKO at Superbrawl 38.
6: SHINYA AOKI SNAPS KEITH WISNIEWSKI’S ARM
Event: Shooto: 1/29 in Korakuen Hall
Date: January 29, 2005
The other arm break-addicted fighter on our list, Aoki, whet his appetite for snapping limbs when he inadvertently broke Keith Wisniewski’s forearm while attempting a judo arm-drag against the ropes in the opening minutes of their Shooto fight. Uneventful up until that point, the fight was stopped at the 2:22 mark, giving Aoki the win and Wisniewski a minor fracture that took four months to heal.
He defeated Musail Allaudinov by TKO at Euphoria: USA vs. Russia in his next bout. While Aoki would break another arm two years later in a jiu-jitsu competition when Kuniyoshi Hironaka refused to tap when caught in a tight armbar.
RECOVERY AND REPAIR
If these fighters can make it back from such devastating injuries, so can you. With the right surgeons and physiotherapists and cutting-edge operating and recuperating advances, the chances of being able to return to competition after injuries like these have dramatically increased over the past few years.
Injuries, although they can be daunting and psychologically taxing, don’t have to necessarily mean the end of your fighting career if you’re prepared to work hard at rehabbing them.
