Rafa Garcia sustained one of the more gruesome cuts in recent memory at UFC Fight Night 216 on Saturday, but he still managed to get his hand raised.
An elbow from opponent Maheshate (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) opened a cut to the side of Garcia’s (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) head in the second round, and the volume of blood that came out and covered the mat of the octagon at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas was immense. Ultimately, Garcia battled through it and got the unanimous decision, but he was still leaking as he left the cage.
It turns out there was good reason for the amount of blood. Garcia’s cornerman, Cub Swanson, revealed on social media that the cut happened on an artery in the head. It took 15 stitches to close, according to Garcia’s backstage interview after the fight.
Check out the picture Swanson shared below (via Twitter):
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 pic.twitter.com/YoIv6cjzBi
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) December 18, 2022
The UFC medical team did a great job getting this thing fixed up 🙏🏽 #UFCVegas66 pic.twitter.com/RxKNUzR8mi
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) December 18, 2022
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.