Warning: The following video contains images of severe injury that some viewers may find difficult to watch.
MMA holds many obvious dangers. A sport predicated on the damage a fighter can do to their fellow opponent is hardly going to be an exercise in safety and wellness. But, not all those dangers are obvious. Outside the clubbing punches, wrenching submissions, and suffocating chokes, low kicks hold a special horror all their own.
The combination of speed and power put behind such a simple and consistent striking tool creates a recipe for gruesome injuries. While low kicks are great for deadening the mobility and momentum of an opponent, often the most damage they can cause is to the aggressor. Land one in the wrong place, or get one checked, and all that force has to end up somewhere.
In the case of amateur MMA fighter Jonathan King, his workaday low kick attempt on Chris Williams – during the undercard of America Kombat Alliance’s Rite of Passage 6 event on January 5th – landed square on Williams’ knee. The result was a nasty leg break for King in the vein of Silva/Weidman or Corey Hill’s exploded shin against Dale Hartt at the UFC’s first ever Fight for the Troops event in 2008.
Check out the video below… or, you know, just skip it and be pleased with your self control.
In a message posted to Facebook by the American Kombat Alliance, the promotion reported that as of early Sunday morning, following the injury, “Jonathan King just got out of recovery this morning. The doctor said surgery to set the leg went really well. Physical therapy starts tomorrow morning and he should be cleared to travel home this week.”
Hopefully his recovery continues quickly.
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