A horrific MMA injury happened inside the cage on Saturday, and it wasn’t from the other fighter. It was from the cage.
This past Saturday in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at Martial Combat League 3, amateur fighters Hunter Boone and Jordan Brown fought for 17 seconds before Boone suffered a horrific head laceration from an exposed cage bracket.
The Injury – WARNING VERY GRAPHIC PICTURES AHEAD
Boone posted the pictures of his graphic injury to his Instagram on Sunday.
“SWIPE AT YOUR OWN RISK, GRAPHIC CONTENT!!!!!!!!!!!
Pics from my injury last night. Ref/Doc stoppage due to a faulty octagon and improper padding/inspections,” Boone wrote.
17 staples for 17 seconds
According to MyMMANews, who initially reported on the story, Brown took Boone down just moments after the fight started. Seconds later, Boone’s head struck a cage bracket that had been exposed, resulting in a massive tear on the top of his head. The injury would require 17 staples to close.
The fight lasted 17 seconds, and Brown was declared the winner via TKO.
The promotion posted on their official Facebook page addressing the situation.
“We’d like to address the incident that occurred during a fight at last nights event. We understand and appreciate everyone’s concern on what happened and our hearts are with the individual who was injured in this incident. We were in just as much shock as anyone when this occurred. We assembled our cage no differently than we have for each of our previous events. It is our understanding that the sanctioning commission of the event inspected the cage prior to the show. No issues with the cage where brought to our attention by the sanctioning commission,” the promotion wrote. “There was a very unfortunate event that occurred during a takedown near the the door of our cage. How the injury occurred is still undetermined and there was no clear sign as to what or why this injury took place. After the cage was cleared of the incident, our cage was fully inspected by multiple individuals of the sanctioning commission and our cage was deemed necessary to continue. We don’t have an answer as to why this injury occurred and we’re, without a doubt, extremely sorry to the individual who suffered this injury.
“We’re not sure how or why concerns were brought up about us not taking care of the injured athlete, this certainly is not the case. We take required action and secure proper coverage to make certain qualified injuries occurred are covered prior to every event we promote.
And to address the concerns of the injured individual’s opponent being declared the winner, that issue has nothing to do with our promotion. We have no control, nor does the person declared the winner, over who the sanctioning body determines the winner of any fights that take place on any of our events, including last night.“Anyone who has ever been apart of our shows, as a fan or an athlete, knows the the effort we put into producing top tier shows for combat athletes to showcase their skill. We would NEVER knowingly put on a show if there was ever any doubt whether or not the athletes competing under our banner were fully protected.
“And again, our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the individual involved in this incident.”
We’d like to address the incident that occurred during a fight at last nights event. We understand and appreciate…
Posted by Martial Combat League on Sunday, February 13, 2022
Boone’s head coach Jason Greer was in his corner and commented on the situation on his Facebook.
The fighting mind. This is something some people never truly understand, and really most people can’t handle to even stick there pinky toe in on the conversation because it makes them uncomfortable. How can someone agree to go lock themselves in a cage with another man who wants to do the most violent of things where a very real possibility for either one is death? Perspective, I think, is the best answer. Choosing to do really hard things in life make the hard things easy. Last night, moments before my friend made the choice to stare death in the eye, I took a step back and looked at a strong, confident, peaceful, proud, very violently capable man. A man who beat the odds. A man who’s life got turned upside down only a few months ago. A man that any man would want in his corner. A man with a heart of a lion and a true morale compass. A man who, in the most fierce moment of competition, keeps fighting to take the advantage over whatever obstacle life throws in his face. A man whom I’m proud to have as a friend. A man I love like a brother. Just moments before chaos, when most men would tremble and cower in fear, my friend stood as calm as you can be. There was a sense of peace about him I’ve never seen before. He was clear. Focused. But totally in tune. A few seconds after the bell rung Hunter and his opponent spun into the cage. His opponent had a collar tie and as they hit the fence Hunter’s head slammed into the gate resulting in Hunter suffering a 20 centimeter gash across the front of his hairline from the left to the right, down the right side and towards the back basically scalping him. It knocked him unconscious immediately but he had regained consciousness before he hit the ground. Knowing he had just received a fight ending blow he started scrambling from the cocoon with the idea of a triangle. Fighting for the win against all odds! I had no idea in the moment what had even happened after the ref stopped the fight and immediately called for the Doctor. I was so confused and Hunter looked at me and whispered “Damnit man…It’s over.” I rushed in the cage and for the first time I saw how devestating his injury was. His spirit never waivered. His attitude never changed. I hate when bad things happen. And I definitely hate to see when someone deserves to show all of there hardwork get cut short. But I’m so thankful that my friend is okay. Hunter Boone you are a savage of a man. I love you brother. I’m so proud of how you handled yourself last night. I know you’ll be back to training and making a positive difference in everyone at the gym soon! Your family is behind you brother 💙💪🏻👆🏻👌🏻
