UFC 310 fighter posts scary injury photo, Kai Asakura addresses debut loss, Gordon Ryan argues in favor of PEDs: MMA News Roundup
One fighter who competed at UFC 310 got his face bloody and bruised in a defeat, which sent him to the hospital. Meanwhile, Gordon Ryan weighed in on the controversy of PED usage in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, brought to the headlines recently by Mikey Musumeci.
Here are today's top combat sports news updates, presented by Sportskeeda MMA.
Cody Durden shares photo of bruised face after UFC 310
Last Saturday night was Cody Durden's day, but he isn't letting that dampen his spirits. Going up against Joshua Van in a flyweight clash on the UFC 310 prelims, Durden fell short on the judges' scorecard and suffered a decision loss. Van dominated Durden for a better part of the fight, showing off impressive striking that left bloody bruises on the latter's face.
After the fight, Durden was transported to the hospital for a precautionary CT scan which revealed that he had fractured his orbital.
In a tweet posted after the fight, he shared the update on his injury while also revealing that he could not see anything "at some point" in the second round. Durden hailed his opponent as the "real deal" and hoped for his vision to return soon.
"Fight game is tough! Couldn’t see anything at some point in the 2nd round after a punch fractured my orbital! Just left the hospital, and I’ll be good soon! @JoshuaVanBT is the real deal. You won fair [and] square! Praying my vision comes back to normal soon! Love you all!"
Kai Asakura issues statement on loss to Alexandre Pantoja
Former RIZIN fighter and Japanese sensation Kai Asakura made his UFC debut against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310 on Saturday, challenging for the latter's UFC flyweight belt. It did not go his way despite an explosive start as Pantoja submitted him in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
However, Asakura vowed to make a strong return in the social media statement issued after the fight:
''Thank you so much for all your support, I’m sorry I couldn’t repay you with results. He was a great champion and I was still weak. I didn’t reach it this time, but I’ll definitely climb up and become the champion. I’ve always done that, and I’ll keep doing it until I achieve it. I’ll come back stronger.''
Gordon Ryan: "The best athletes are the people on PEDs"
Gordon Ryan made a very unusual argument in favor of using performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports. He claimed that using PEDs gives the best value for money to the audience and equals the scale for those who do not have the resources to avoid getting caught.
In the wake of Mike Musumeci's comments about BJJ athletes rampantly using steroids, Ryan spoke with the media during UFC 310 and weighed in on the matter:
"I just think that across the board, if people wanna see the best athletes, the best athletes are the people on PEDs... All that PED testing does, in my opinion, is that the people with the good teams and doctors can afford to beat the best and the guys that are up and coming... those guys can't beat the test."
"So then you have natural guys competing against juice guys anyways. Whereas if they’re legal, then everybody can just take as many steroids as they want."