5 times UFC stars fought the fight of their lives despite being sick or injured

Justin Gaethje vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (left) & Khabib Nurmagomedov with mumps (right) [Image Credits- @Riaz1Khokhar & @DrDavidAbbasi on Twitter ]

Fighters in the UFC have earned plaudits for being some of the toughest athletes in the world. It is no surprise that fighters have an extremely high tolerance for pain. It would take a madman to willingly get punched or kicked otherwise.

Some fighters, however, one up their contemporaries by picking fights while nursing a particular injury or sickness. Although a legion of medical professionals would advise otherwise, fighters often choose to fight through medical conditions due to a myriad of personal reasons.

What's more surprising is the fact that regardless of their respective injuries, some fighters go on to record stupefying wins in their fights. However, some competitors, after putting on a brave outing, are forced to find their way back home with a loss on their record.

Rory Markham, for instance, is one such fighter. UFC 95 saw Markham lace up a pair of gloves to butt heads with Dan Hardy. Markham failed to come up big and fell to Dan Hardy via first-round knockout.

What was astonishing about the fight was the fact that Markham had walked into his clash against Hardy with a collapsed lung. Although the severity of his condition was never revealed, we can only imagine how difficult it must have been to compete in the octagon.

11 years ago today Dan Hardy knocked Rory Markham out in the first round at UFC 95.

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His co-main event bout against Hardy saw him cut down to 170 pounds, having previously fought in the middleweight division. It was subsequently revealed that the weight cut had caused his lung complication.

In this article, however, we take a look at those UFC fighters who managed to emerge triumphant despite going into their fights with an injury or a medical ailment.

#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Jason Miller - UFC 52

Georges St-Pierre walked into a fight against one of the UFC welterweight division's top prospects, Jason Miller, while battling an illness. The fight went down at the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena at UFC 52 back in April 2005.

The future 170-pound champion managed to score a decisive unanimous decision victory over Miller. It was in the aftermath of their fight, during his post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan, that it was revealed that St-Pierre could not breathe through his nose.

The triumph marked GSP's first step in his crusade to sling the UFC welterweight championship title over his shoulder.