Fans have branded UFC star Gregory Rodrigues' latest injury as "the worst cut" in the history of the promotion after he picked up a knockout with over Chidi Njokuani.
The Brazilian middleweight was opened up between the eyes early in the fight after taking a knee from Njokuani that almost ended the bout in the opening exchanges. But he powered through and survived the round, as well a potential doctor's stoppage between rounds and came out for the next round.
In the second, Rodrigues found his rhythm, and despite the gruesome injury which had been patched up as best as his cut man could, he began to take over the fight. Ultimately, once he got Njokuani to the ground, he relatively handily landed some intense ground-and-pound, taking the victory and earning a cool $50,000 bonus for his troubles in the immediate aftermath.
"I know one thing, I'm born for this," Rodrigues told Daniel Cormier in the immediate aftermath of the fight when asked how he survived. "It doesn't matter, man, they need to kill me but alive or dead you're coming with me - I'm a Robocop. I want to say one thing, I love you Jesus, thank you very much for everything you do in my life, that's the name.
"I felt the blood coming out and then my head said 'calm down, don't rush'. But I felt it's a war, man. I'm grateful to fight against the greatest guys in this cage. I want to say thank you Dana [White], Mick [Maynard, UFC Vice President of Talent Relations]. I've said I'm a guy who takes a challenge, I want to go against the best so I'm here, let's go, I'm ready to go.
"I love what the UFC do, the matchmakers do amazing work so I'm going to wait for them, whatever you guys offer me I'm here and I will take it. Thank you very much, thank you UFC, I appreciate being here. This is my house and I'm here to stay."
What did you make of Gregory Rodrigues' cut? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
UFC president Dana White shared a pair of photos of the cut, showing its full gruesome effects before assuring fans that it had been stitched up after the fight. The bout was his second consecutive performance bonus-winning knockout after putting away Julian Marquez within a round back in June.
Fans were concerned about the severity of the injury, with a number of posts appearining on a Reddit thread that branded it the "worst cut in the UFC". One said: "I legit got queasy looking at that. I don’t know how he kept fighting, let alone winning," while another asked: "How does the happen and the guy doesn’t go out?"
His record overall in the UFC is now 4-1, three of which earned him the $50,000 bonus, after he signed from the LFA last summer where he was middleweight champion. Marquez and Njokuani are both solid names at 185lb, and he will now likely move on to some even more challenging fights in the division.
