USA TodayRory MacDonald battled through massive injuries on Saturday before losing to UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler via knockout, and it has since emerged that he broke his nose and right foot during the bout.
Continue for updates.
MacDonald Suffers Multiple Injuries at UFC 189
Sunday, July 12
Greg Beacham of the Associated Press revealed MacDonald's nose was broken as early as the first round of his fight with Lawler, while his coach, Firas Zahabi, added that he also fractured his right foot, via Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com:
Greg Beacham @gregbeachamDana White says Rory MacDonald's nose got broken in the first round. Couldn't see or breathe. Afterward, he didn't know what year it was.
Ariel Helwani @arielhelwaniRory MacDonald suffered a fractured nose and fractured right foot, per his coach @Firas_Zahabi.
MacDonald shared a photo of his facial injuries via Twitter (Warning: The image may be disturbing to some):
Rory MacDonald @rory_macdonaldbroken nose broken foot but ill be back http://t.co/KAakEC0qTh
If anything, the extent of those injuries makes MacDonald's performance even more remarkable after what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best fights of 2015 and the highlight of the UFC 189 card.
A thundering left from Lawler stifled MacDonald's challenge for the welterweight title at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena, but MacDonald's reputation won't suffer from the commendable defeat.
ncG1vNJzZmianJqupLTEq6meqJ%2BnwW%2BvzqZmmqqknrCtsdJoaW5qYWWCdXnRqKmyZZ2WsKW7zZqjnWWZo7e2vthmrKmckamytHnOp2SunpNiwLWt0axkp6ejmnqnu86t