MMA News Roundup: UFC Vegas 66 fighter bleeds horrifically from ugly artery bust, Conor McGregor eyes Nate Diaz trilogy but outside octagon, wrestler with no legs wins pro debut
Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.
In today's issue, we talk about the final UFC event of 2023, Conor McGregor eyeing a third fight with Nate Diaz, and more.
#3) Rafa Garcia busts an artery and bleeds for nearly 2 hours (GRAPHIC WARNING)
Lightweight fighter Rafa Garcia competed on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland. He took on Hayisaer Maheshate in a catchweight bout and won the fight via unanimous decision. However, in the second round, a brutal elbow from Maheshate caught Garcia in the head and busted open a gruesome cut.
Veteran UFC fighter Cub Swanson later took to Twitter to reveal that Garcia had cut an artery in his head, and it took the UFC medical staff two hours to stop the bleeding and stitch him up.
[Graphic Warning: Viewer's discretion advised]
🏽 #UFCVegas66
Rafa Garcia had a cut artery on his head. It took the UFC medical staff almost two hours to get it to stop bleeding. He is ok now 🙏🏽 #UFCVegas66 https://t.co/YoIv6cjzBi
Fans were quick to question the decision of not sending Garcia to the hospital despite him bleeding out for two hours.
Swanson later posted a video as well, where Garcia is seen bleeding out profusely from the snagged artery.
[Graphic Warning: Viewer's discretion advised]
The UFC medical team did a great job getting this thing fixed up 🙏🏽 #UFCVegas66 https://t.co/RxKNUzR8mi
#2) Conor McGregor wants the Nate Diaz trilogy, but not in the UFC
During the UFC Vegas 66 broadcast on Saturday night, Conor McGregor went on a Twitter rant about quite a few things. He weighed in on Dana White's new Power Slap League and also floated the idea of fighting Nate Diaz for the championship.
McGregor then went on to query the rules and regulations of the league:
"Is it a flip of a coin who gets to go first? How long do they have to recover before they get to throw their counter? Or is it over if they’re ko’d? Fascinating. I’m attending one of these 100%. Is this Dana’s ? Wtf is this madness Dana hahaha. I’m in."
The Irishman also showed interest in a potential move up to middleweight in the future. In a back-and-forth argument with a fan, the former double champion debated that he did not eat a single calf kick against Dustin Poirier and was well on his way to winning the fight before he broke his leg.
'The Notorious' deleted most of the tweets within the next hour.
#1) Zion Clark wins pro MMA debut after taking down opponent
In the world of combat sports, inspiration is always just around the corner. In the latest show of extreme courage and resilience, a wrestler born with no legs won his first-ever MMA bout.
Zion Clark, a 25-year-old wrestler from Ohio, competed against Eugene Murray inside the cage on Saturday at an event titled 'Season's Beatings' by the MMA organization Gladiator Challenge.
Clark was born without legs as a result of a rare birth disorder that affects one in every 60,000 births. He grew up in foster care before choosing to become a wrestler. In the fight, he shot for a single-leg takedown and got into the mount position.
🥊Zion Clark, a wrestler with no legs, takes down his opponent in his first MMA match 😳🥊 https://t.co/JD1gWuNyBN
He ended up winning the bout with a 30-27 unanimous decision, and his opponent was seen celebrating the victory with a generous show of spirit.
🏼True Inspiration @bigz97 ⚡️
ZION CLARK WINS VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION 👏🏼👏🏼
(via @ajmckee101) https://t.co/F1G8QLLgAG