Often during Halloween, people will go to extremes to make it look like they have extremely bad injuries, especially if someone is dressing like a zombie. In MMA there are always injuries not related to a choke or knockout that look extremely brutal and keep people out for months or up to a year and require surgery.
That is what this list will cover and just to clarify, knockouts and chokes won’t be included in this list unless the injury is related to a knockout. So here we go and for those of the faint of heart who might want to look these up, viewer discretion is advised:
~ 10 ~
Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 129
Yes, this first fight was a knockout but not because of the method. In what would become Randy Couture’s last fight, both fighters put up a good fight during the first round. Then at 1:05 in the second round, Lyoto Machida threw a front kick similar to the one that Black House teammate and middleweight champion at the time Anderson Silva used against Vitor Belfort to knock Couture out.
What was so brutal about it is that because mouth pieces only protect the upper jaw, when Machida’s foot landed squarely on Couture’s lower jaw, one of his front teeth went flying onto the Octagon floor, similar to how Teila Tuli‘s teeth went flying when Gerard Gordeau kicked him in the mouth. Dana White was later quoted as telling Couture he would personally pay for a tooth implant to replace it.
~ 9 ~
Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva I at UFC 64
Rich Franklin had been the UFC middleweight champion for a little over a year and defended his title twice. Anderson Silva had just demolished Chris Leben in his UFC debut and because he was already highly ranked was getting a title shot against Franklin. What people didn’t know was that the one sided demolition was the beginning of the longest title reign in UFC history.
Silva went into the Octagon that night and took all of three minutes to destroy Franklin and put him on the Octagon floor. In the process he broke Franklin’s nose in such a brutal way that it required surgery and Franklin wouldn’t fight again for another six months.
~ 8 ~
Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 159
This is only one of two fights on this list where the injured fighter was able to pull off the win. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen had just coached opposite against each other in The Ultimate Fighter 17 in what was surprisingly a very civil season between the two head coaches.
However, once the Octagon door closed, Jones went in and proved why he is probably the best light heavyweight of all time. While he needed only the first round to finish the fight, Jones did not notice that while he was finishing the fight his left big toe was in a bad situation and realized that he may have partially torn it off. Fortunately it was only a bad dislocation that required stitches and nothing else.
~ 7 ~
Frank Mir vs. Tim Sylvia at UFC 48
Going into this fight, Tim Sylvia was trying to reclaim the title that he lost because of steroid use and Frank Mir was getting his first title shot. Not a minute into the fight Sylvia had Mir on the ground when Mir locked an arm bar. When referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, the crowd started booing and Sylvia protested saying his arm was not broken, even waving it around to prove it.
However, commentator Joe Rogan had no doubt it was a legitimate finish and close up slow motion showed Sylvia’s arm breaking not once, but three times! Mir won the championship, establishing himself as a dangerous submission specialist, and Herb Dean established himself as arguably one of the best officials in MMA.
~ 6 ~
Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 115
Rich Franklin is the only man who appears on this list twice. Franklin had been waffling between middleweight and light heavyweight since his second loss to Anderson Silva, trying to get enough traction to possibly get a title shot at light heavyweight while Chuck Liddell had lost four of his last five fights including loosing the title to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
This fight was pretty much the coaches fight for season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter as Tito Ortiz dropped out due to an injury. Late into the first round, Liddell threw a high kick against Franklin but Franklin was able to throw a right hand that knocked out the dangerous striker. When the dust settled, it was pretty clear that Franklin’s arm was badly broken, meaning that he’d essentially knocked Liddell out with one arm, sending him into retirement.
~ 5 ~
Rosi Sexton vs. Tomomi Sunaba at BodogFight – Costa Rica
This is one of two brutal women’s injuries on this list. The now defunct BodogFight hosted a match in Costa Rica between women’s MMA pioneer Rosi Sexton and Tomomi Sunaba, also a longtime pioneer. Towards the end of the second round as the two were grappling, Sunaba’s foot got caught up and her ankle twisted in one of the most brutal ways possible.
Surprisingly the fight went to the judges and was called a technical decision for Sexton. Sunaba would go through half the next year undergoing surgeries and wouldn’t fight for another eight months.
~ 4 ~
Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha Tate at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey
The second women’s fight on this list, this is also the fight that made Rousey a name in MMA. Going into this fight Rousey had essentially talked her way into her title shot but was already considered a rising star in MMA while Meisha Tate had fought a Strikeforce tournament to get a title shot then took the title from Marloes Coenen.
The fight lasted less then a round with Tate and Rousey going back and forth in both striking and grappling. Then in the fourth minute while on the ground Rousey locked in her trademark arm bar. However, when Tate didn’t tap when Rousey twisted her arm to the limit, Rousey continued to pull until Tate’s elbow dislocated, essentially ending the fight.
~ 3 ~
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II at UFC 140
Frank Mir is the only repeat offender responsible for creating a brutal injury. This fight was a rematch between Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, where Mir handed Nogueira his first loss by strikes. However, it was later pointed out that Nogueira went into the fight with a staph infection and that probably factored into Nogueira’s performance.
But midway through the first round, Nogueira locked in a kimura on Nogueira and when Big Nog failed to tap, Mir brutally broke his arm. The injury was so bad that Big Nog now has a rod in his arm and underwent surgery.
~ 2 ~
Ross Pettifer vs. Rob Evans at Cage Rage 4: Lightning Strikes
This is probably one of the most brutal MMA injuries that no one knows about. It was 2003 and Cage Rage was a young British promotion setting a name for itself in Great Britain, while the UFC was still struggling and Pride FC was thriving in Japan. In the midst of it all, rising middleweight talents Ross Pettifer and Rob Evans met on Cage Rage’s fourth fight card.
Right out of the gate, Evans threw a low kick that Pettifer checked immediately. Evans’ leg snapped immediately and was heard on camera, he then had to be taken out on a stretcher.
~ 1 ~
Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill at UFC: Fight for the Troops
Without a doubt, this is one of the most brutal, if not THE most brutal injury in MMA history. Dale Hartt and Corey Hill met on the preliminary card for the first UFC: Fight for the Troops fight night. Within the first seconds of the second round, Hill threw a low kick against Hartt who checked the kick. Just like the above mentioned injury,
Hill’s leg snapped and he was out for over a year before he could fight again. Hill would be out for over a year and has most recently been seen fighting for the XFC promotion.
Do you know of any other brutal MMA injuries? Leave a comment!