5 MMA fighters who won fights despite grave injuriesÂ
UFC 222 had many breakout moments - Brian Ortega becoming the first man to stop future Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar; Alexander Hernandez knocking Beneil Dariush out of the top 15 lightweight rankings; Ketlen Vieira keeping her undefeated streak intact against former titlist Cat Zingano and saving the best for last, "Sugar" Sean O'Malley willing his body to cash the cheque his mouth wrote and beating Andre Soukhamthath despite an excruciating foot injury.
The host of the Sugar Show had 2 rounds in his pocket was on track to beat Soukhamthath but he badly hurt his right foot in the 3rd round and was virtually on one leg from that point.
Agreed, Soukhamthath broke the stereotype that all Asians are super smart by taking O'Malley down when he should have let him stay on the feet, which he barely could, and the referee would've most likely stopped the fight and given "The Asian Sensation" the win via doctor stoppage.
What we saw instead was a 23-year-old O'Malley, showing that he had the one quality that can make or break a fighter, one that cannot be taught but must be learnt - heart. But this wasn't the first time we've been stunned by the intangible. Let's take a look at 5 other inspiring performances where fighters didn't let debilitating injuries deny them victory:
#5 Uriah Hall
Despite coming up short in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 17 after a stellar run on the show(which included what Dana White called the most vicious knockout he'd seen on the show), many thought Uriah Hall would be the next Anderson Silva.
He might not have fulfilled those lofty expectations, but Primetime has had his moments in the octagon and by that, we mean more than just jaw-dropping knockouts. One of those came against Brazilian powerhouse Thiago Santos at UFC 175.
Despite not winning The Ultimate Fighter, Dana White had signed Hall in the implausible hope that he would finish every one of his fights with a flashy knockout. Predictably disappointed, the UFC kingpin told media before Hall's UFC 168 bout with old warhorse Chris Leben that he would be cut from the UFC if he didn't deliver. Hall delivered emphatically by stopping the veteran, but he still wasn't out of danger.
In the first round of his UFC 175 tilt against Santos, Hall's second toe on his right foot was so badly broken that it was almost at a right angle to the rest of his toes.
For a fighter who depends on speed, spinning attacks and movement as much as Hall, this could have been a breakdown. But he shrugged it off, powered through to a decision win and gave one of the best post-fight speeches to have fallen on UFC fans' ears.