UFC lightweight star Rafa Garcia suffered a brutal injury in his latest showing opposite Maheshate Hayisaer at UFC Vegas 66.
Garcia marked his return to action against Hayisaer on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 216, headlined by the middleweight clash between Sean Strickland and Jared Cannonier, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was looking to rebound off a loss to Drakkar Klose in July at UFC 277.
The American-born Mexican mixed martial artist entered the contest as the betting favorite and battled it out with Hayisaer for three rounds in a competitive affair that saw each fighter have his moment. Garcia managed to come out on top of the judges’ scorecards by unanimous decision and got back in the winning column.
However, the win did not come easily. Maheshate landed some slicing shots that opened up a cut on Garcia’s head during the fight.
The elbow that caused Garcia’s cut 😬 #UFCVegas66
Cub Swanson Shares the Aftermath of Garcia’s Injury
UFC bantamweight veteran Cub Swanson took to Twitter to share the aftermath of the horrific injury.
“Rafa Garcia had a cut artery on his head,” he wrote. “It took the UFC medical staff almost two hours to get it to stop bleeding. He is ok now #UFCVegas66.”
Reactions from Swanson’s fans and the MMA community came rushing in on the post.
“A cut artery? Scary stuff,” wrote a user.
“Man. That explains why there was so much blood,” commented another. “Surprised his cardio still held up with that much blood loss.”
A user posted, “F**k, no way he didn’t need a blood transfusion after that. has to have lost like a liter by the end of the whole thing right?”
Another asked: “It’s one of those pictures that ask “so you wanna be a fighter?”
Swanson followed up with another post showing a bloody towel, presumably where Garcia laid on while getting treated. He concluded the string of tweets with a graphic video that showed Garcia’s blood profusely bleeding out from the cut artery.
He added, “The UFC medical team did a great job getting this thing fixed up #UFCVegas66.”
Strickland vs. Cannonier Headlines UFC Vegas 66
Former middleweight title challenger Cannonier was rebounding off an unsuccessful title challenge to former champion Israel Adesanya. Going into the bout, Cannonier shared his thoughts on the top-ranked contender and predicted a finish.
“Strickland is a dog in the cage. He’ll get in your face and try and put his fist through it. And if you give him a chance, he’ll talk some s**t to you as well. He’s as good as anybody else in the top 10,” Jared told TMZ. “Like I said, he’s a dog in there. If I give him the opportunity, he’ll sink his teeth in and start shaking me all over the fucking cage, right? I’m ready for that. I’m ready to see somebody try to do that.”
“The Killa Gorilla” added … “Like I said, he’s a dog in there. If I give him the opportunity, he’ll sink his teeth in and start shaking me all over the fucking cage, right? I’m ready for that. I’m ready to see somebody try to do that.”
Comments
Fighter Shares Gruesome Aftermath of Horrific Injury in UFC Vegas 66 Win