There are a lot more “freak injuries” than we realize

[Bearknuckle]

I was just bored and looking through fighters n records. I came across something we never point out. There are A LOT of fighters and fights ended due to what we call a freak injury. Many in title fights.

here are some title fights i remember being stopped or ended due to a freak injury.

Silva vs Cote
Aldo vs Korean zombie
Aljo vs TJ (kinda)
Silva vs weidman 2
Couture vs belfort 2
Im sure there are more

some random recent fights off the top of my head
Kattar vs allen
Fiziev vs gamrot

Anyone remember other high profile or main event fights that ended in a freak injury? Would love to see what u all can dig up

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

I was just bored and looking through fighters n records. I came across something we never point out. There are A LOT of fighters and fights ended due to what we call a freak injury. Many in title fights.

here are some title fights i remember being stopped or ended due to a freak injury.

Silva vs Cote
Aldo vs Korean zombie
Aljo vs TJ (kinda)
Silva vs weidman 2
Couture vs belfort 2
Im sure there are more

some random recent fights off the top of my head
Kattar vs allen
Fiziev vs gamrot

Anyone remember other high profile or main event fights that ended in a freak injury? Would love to see what u all can dig up

UFC 261 had two back to back freak injuries:

We all remember the Weidman-Hall one, and right before that fight Jimmy Crute went down with a knee injury against Anthony Smith

This card should be named Fight for Hospitalization for all the freak injuries and brutal outcome

- Corey Hill made broken leg a thing before Anderson Silva

- Razak Al Hasan's elbow getting bent at 270 degree angle

- Brandon Wolff developing a softball on his skull

- Yoshida getting sent to the shadow realm twice

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Injuries in fights aren't really freak, these dudes are pushing their bodies to the limit after a tough training camp. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

 

[Gabe]

Remember John Makdessi vs. Donald Cerrone? Makdessi tapped after a head kick.

 

[jk7707]

I mean, they're not really "freak" injuries. They're fight ending, but they're things that happen in every professional sport. I'd even go as far as saying that most of these are less "freakish" than an NFL player planting their foot and blowing out their knee out of nowhere.

 

[Bearknuckle]

Injuries in fights aren't really freak, these dudes are pushing their bodies to the limit after a tough training camp. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

True, but we all agree that some of the fight ending injuries weren’t meant to be, it just happened. To me a freak injury is something that wouldnt happen 99% of the time, a checked kick leg break, kz blowing his shoulder throwing a punch, a guy hopping on a knee and blowing it with no contact.

But something like brian ortega’s arm/shoulder injury isnt a freak accident because yair had him in a deep armlock and he yanked it and hurt it.

 

[Bearknuckle]

I mean, they're not really "freak" injuries. They're fight ending, but they're things that happen in every professional sport. I'd even go as far as saying that most of these are less "freakish" than an NFL player planting their foot and blowing out their knee out of nowhere.

Both can be true.

 

[svmr_db]

Kevin Lee: "freak" spontaneous chicken leg injury

 

[Hellowhosthat]

True, but we all agree that some of the fight ending injuries weren’t meant to be, it just happened. To me a freak injury is something that wouldnt happen 99% of the time, a checked kick leg break, kz blowing his shoulder throwing a punch, a guy hopping on a knee and blowing it with no contact.

But something like brian ortega’s arm/shoulder injury isnt a freak accident because yair had him in a deep armlock and he yanked it and hurt it.

I just think it's too common to be freak for me. A true freak occurrence is like when Jake Ellenberger got his foot stuck in the gap between the mat and the cage somehow.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Shit is real in the field

 

[Poirierfan]

Kevin Lee: "freak" spontaneous chicken leg injury

Hell yeah

 

[Neck&Neck]

Kevin Lee: "freak" spontaneous chicken leg injury

turned Kevin Lee into Tyrone Biggums

 

[Poirierfan]

turned Kevin Lee into Tyrone Biggums

This ain't no shit, I told my son right before that fight came on that he had to come watch. You gonna possibly see a chicken dance I told him, and I be damn if Kevin didn't deliver.

 

[7 others]

Biggest fluke injury win was probably Vitor vs Couture as Vitor missed a punch and his glove stitching cut up Couture's eye

And that was a championship fight lol

 

[Vegeta12]

UFC 261 had two back to back freak injuries:

We all remember the Weidman-Hall one, and right before that fight Jimmy Crute went down with a knee injury against Anthony Smith

This card should be named Fight for Hospitalization for all the freak injuries and brutal outcome

- Corey Hill made broken leg a thing before Anderson Silva

- Razak Al Hasan's elbow getting bent at 270 degree angle

- Brandon Wolff developing a softball on his skull

- Yoshida getting sent to the shadow realm twice

The Corey Hill leg break... man. I was in the 6th grade when I saw that happen and I almost stopped kickboxing forever lol. That one was bad.

Edit* thought that happened in '06, but it was '08 so it was 8th grade. Still feel old as shit

 

[Dave Poodle]

I think fans try and devalue wins too much in MMA. It can be unspectacular and unsatisfying but defense can end fights. Getting taken down, having a takedown stuffed, checking a kick, making an opponent miss a punch or change direction suddenly can all cause injuries and end fights or leave a fighter unable to defend. That's just the variables of fighting. Sometimes it's also hard to tell if something happened earlier in a fight that compromise a fighter before an injury too. Sure, luck is an element in a lot of fights but there's degrees to it.

 

[Connection Lost]

I was just bored and looking through fighters n records. I came across something we never point out. There are A LOT of fighters and fights ended due to what we call a freak injury. Many in title fights.

here are some title fights i remember being stopped or ended due to a freak injury.

Silva vs Cote
Aldo vs Korean zombie
Aljo vs TJ (kinda)
Silva vs weidman 2
Couture vs belfort 2
Im sure there are more

some random recent fights off the top of my head
Kattar vs allen
Fiziev vs gamrot

Anyone remember other high profile or main event fights that ended in a freak injury? Would love to see what u all can dig up

So, you number is 7 so far


Your example works out to less than 0.1% of fights. Something like 1 in 1,050 fights. Just going by you saying "many in title fights".

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Kevin Lee: "freak" spontaneous chicken leg injury

I wonder why he has knee issues.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Freak injuries happen when fighters aren't on enough PEDs

 

[Canadian Kicker]

Going back a while but I remember in Arlovski's first defense Justin Eilers (God rest his sole) blew his knee out in like the first minute or two. Pretty sure Arlovski finished him after that but it was the beginning of the end.