UFC lightweight Rafa Garcia lost "20 per cent of his blood" after suffering a cut to an artery on his head during his fight on Saturday night.
Garcia, 28, took on Hayisaer Maheshate at UFC Vegas 66 and was able to win every round of the fight to have his hand raised by unanimous decision. The victory didn't come easily for the Mexican as he was cut to the head by an elbow from Maheshate in the second round, with blood instantly pouring out of his head as the strike landed.
For the entire third round, blood leaked out of the cut but Garcia was able to remain calm and use his wrestling skills to take Maheshate down and secure the win. Garcia was then brought backstage to be seen by doctors after suffering the gruesome injury, but it took UFC medical staff almost two hours to stop the blood from gushing out of his cut.
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"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," Garcia's teammate UFC veteran Cub Swanson tweeted. Fans have now questioned why it took Garcia so long to be seen for his injury, as one tweeted: "Two hours? Wouldn’t you go to the hospital say after the first hour?"
Another user was surprised that Garcia was able to fight so well after suffering the nasty cut, adding: "That explains why there was so much blood. Surprised his cardio still held up with that much blood loss." Garcia insisted that he was fine after being cut to the head, but was worried that doctors would stop the fight because of how bad the injury was.
What are your thoughts on the gruesome cut that Rafa Garcia suffered? Let us know in the comments section below
"I was a little bit concerned that they would stop the fight, that was my main concern. Also what the judges would think, because sometimes people will dominate the whole round even if their face gets messed up. I think I got about 15 stitches," Garcia said after the fight.
"I haven't really gotten stitches before because when I've got a little cut before they just glue it and that's about it. I didn't know if I won the first round, but the second and round I for sure won those, I felt like I drowned him. I had to keep pushing on during the fight to make sure that I made a statement."
