UFC 263’s Jamahal Hill releases statement after gruesome arm injury

Jamahal Hill narrowly — and thankfully — avoided the distinction of being the latest UFC fighter to sustain a broken limb on a major pay-per-view event, UFC 263.

A fight between the No. 14 ranked Hill and the No. 15 ranked Paul Craig served as the opener of the main card. Fireworks were sure to be produced considering the bad blood between the two in the build-up of the rescheduled contest and some were definitely delivered, albeit in a more gruesome way than anticipated.

After an exchange on the feet, Hill and Craig found themselves on the mat with the latter immediately working on a submission attempt on the former’s arm. Craig was unable to secure the first attempt, but the second attempt was locked in tight and pulled back with enough force to appear to have broken the arm of Hill. Surprisingly, the fight continued even with Hill’s arm flopping about in freakish fashion until the referee finally saw enough to bring it to an end.

It was obvious that Hill’s arm was severely damaged to a degree that warranted the speculation of it being broken, but it turned out that wasn’t the case. Later on in the broadcast, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan provided an update on Hill and said his arm was actually just dislocated. UFC president Dana White also confirmed this during his post-fight press conference and revealed Hill’s arm had been popped back into place.

Hill didn’t waste time in providing an update of his own and put his fans at ease by stating he doing fine in spite of the injury.

He also defended the referee in the fight, who drew the ire of many for not stopping the fight sooner.

The loss to Craig has bounced Hill from the ranks of the unbeaten as this marks the first loss of his professional career. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum previously earned wins over the likes of Darko Stosic, Klidson Abreu and Ovince Saint Preux.