Issue 155

June 2017

Call the ambulances, it’s the most violent night in UFC history.

UFC Fight for the Troops: Dec 10th 2008

Call the ambulances, it’s the most violent night in UFC history.

UFC: Fight for the Troops was conceived to raise money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund to support United States military personnel and their families. However, by the end of the night, some of the fighters could have used a bit of that support too. Broken bones and other gruesome injuries meant six of the 10 defeated fighters needed a trip the hospital.

Tap or snap:

Stubbornness is not an admirable quality when your arm is being cranked backwards – as Razak Al-Hassan found out against Steve Cantwell. The Octagon debutant refused to tap and ended up with his elbow bent the wrong way. Cue sirens and gasps from the crowd.

Tough break:

The night’s worst injury, and possibly the worst ever seen in the Octagon, was suffered by the late Corey Hill. ‘The Real Deal’ had made his name as a raw talent on TUF 5, and was demonstrating exciting and dynamic striking using his long and slender frame against Dale Hartt until disaster struck. Just 20 seconds into the second round, Hartt checked a leg kick, hard. Hill’s leg snapped like a twig on his opponent’s shin and began flopping around like a wet fish. He tried to stand on it, but it sickeningly folded under his weight. Unbelievably, Joe Rogan led Hartt, and the crowd, through a play-by-play of the replay on the big screen and prompted gasps of horror, the like of which had never been heard at an MMA event before.

Body blows:

There was no way US Navy veteran Tim Credeur was going to lose in front of the troops. He did what he did best: grinding his way to victory and making Nate Loughran quit on his stool before the final round due to a broken rib.

Taking lumps:

The gold standard for knees in the clinch is probably Anderson Silva’s vicious assault on Rich Franklin. This wasn’t quite at to that level, but Ben Saunders’ attack on Brandon Wolff produced more gruesome results than ‘The Spider’s. The hematoma ‘Killa B’ caused on his opponent’s forehead was scary.

Get the stretcher:

The knockout of the night was saved for the main event. Yoshiyuki Yoshida was prepared to take advantage of Josh Koscheck’s looping right hand but he didn’t count on the TUF 1 villain throwing the two straightest right punches of his life. The first stunned the Japanese judoka and the second knocked him flat.