5 Most gruesome facial injuries in UFC history
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a brutal sport involving fisticuffs between the best fighters on the planet. It goes without saying that regardless of the weight class or magnitude of the fight, someone ends up getting hurt.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) being the world’s premier MMA organisation has been witness to several such matchups, wherein popular MMA superstars undergo unwanted facial transformations (and I don’t mean that in a good way!).
The Octagon has seen its fair share of brutal face-punching and some of the grossest facial injuries. Let’s take a brief look:
#5 Joanna Champion prepares ‘Penne pasta’ just like she had promised
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0) is a former world Muay Thai champion and current UFC Strawweight champion, with an MMA base of kick boxing and Muay Thai. Jessica Penne (12-4) is a former Invicta FC Atomweight champion with an MMA base of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Judo.
Jedrzejczyk’s 1st UFC title defense after destroying former-champ Carla Esparza was against Penne. In the build-up to their SW title matchup in Berlin, Germany, Jedrzejczyk gifted her opponent a packet of ‘Penne pasta’, promising to destroy her, rendering her limp and lifeless just like the pasta.
When the Octagon door slam shut, the Polish striker did exactly what she had predicted, beating Penne from pillar-to-post, knocking her down in the first round and brutalising her against the fence en-route to a third round TKO victory.
Joanna fed her veteran opponent seemingly never-ending volleys of punches, elbows, knees and kicks; breaking her will and destroying her face. By the time the referee mercifully rescued Penne, her face was a mangled mess.
The Polish striking wizard used her slick elbows and deadly knees to slice-up her opponent’s facial skin with as much ease as a monkey peeling a banana.
Joanna Champion was a scary fighter in Muay Thai and now, a scary fighter in MMA. Be scared, very scared!