5 UFC headline bouts that were ended by serious injuries
Whenever the UFC books a big headline bout, everyone from the fans to the promotion itself expects an exciting fight, hopefully complete with a wild ending. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Over the years we’ve seen numerous examples of headline bouts in the UFC being ended in the worst way possible: with a major injury to one of the combatants.
@JanBlachowicz gets the win after an apparent injury to Rakic puts a stop to this one. #UFCVegas54A heartbreaker of a finish but what a contest!
🇵🇱 @JanBlachowicz gets the win after an apparent injury to Rakic puts a stop to this one. #UFCVegas54 https://t.co/jRUKtpeXXg
On occasion, these injuries are caused by something the other fighter does, but often, they tend to be freak occurrences that can put a dampener on an entire event.
Here are five UFC headline bouts that were ended by a serious injury.
#5. Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic – UFC Vegas 54
The latest entry on this list took place this past weekend, as what looked set to be an excellent clash between top-ranked light heavyweights Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic was ended prematurely due to a bad injury.
In this case, Blachowicz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was essentially handed a win when Rakic’s right leg gave way on him in the third round, forcing referee Mark Smith to step in to halt the bout immediately.
Whether or not Blachowicz was actually responsible for the injury is up for debate. Rakic himself has stated that he suffered the damage, which turned out to be a completely torn ACL, during his training camp three weeks before the bout. However, Blachowicz had been working over both of the Austrian’s legs with some nasty kicks prior to the stoppage.
More interestingly, the Polish fighter is seemingly willing to take at least some credit for it, as while he has stated he’d have preferred to win by knockout, he’s claimed that his body was “tougher” than his opponent’s.
Either way, this was a truly nasty injury that seemed innocuous upon first glance, but was clearly visible upon a replay, as Rakic’s knee appeared to pop out of place entirely before he hit the ground.
Whether he comes back as the same fighter is anyone’s guess, but given that ‘Rocket’ has already taken to Instagram to call for a rematch when he returns, it seems that he isn’t ready to give up on his dreams of becoming a champion just yet.