Cory Hendricks is going to need some stitches after his fight against Marthin Hamlet at PFL (Professional Fighter’s League) Playoffs 1 on Friday.
Hendricks and Hamlet were fighting to secure a spot in the 2023 PFL season. The light heavyweights have fought before, with Hendricks submitting Hamlet by third-round rear-naked choke at PFL 5 over a year ago. Similar to their fight fight, Hamlet utilized a wrestling-heavy approach and kept Hendricks grounded throughout three rounds. There was a brief moment where Hendricks was able to get on top of Hamlet and wail on him with punches, but time expired and the fight was over.
Hamlet earned a split decision over Hendricks, who was wearing most of the damage after the season qualifier. Blood poured out of his nose — captured in slow motion in mid-spatter — but that was not the worst of the damage. You may not have seen it, but there was some blood on the left foot of Hendricks. It would be easy to surmise that it came from his nose since it was bleeding profusely, right?
Wrong. That blood on Hendricks’ foot was from what appeared to be a nearly severed pinky toe. The 34-year-old shared a photo of his gruesome injury on social media.
Warning: Photo below is graphic. Please proceed with caution.
“Thank you everyone for the support,” wrote Hendricks on Instagram. “Obviously, I didn’t fight well and had a very poor performance but I’ll wait to give my thoughts on the fight until I’ve had a chance to watch it.
“For now here’s a fun little injury that I got when I tripped on the cage in the first,” continued Hendricks. “At the time I thought I sprained it or something but after the fight discovered I ripped my skin pretty good. Fortunately it looks worse than it is and surprisingly doesn’t hurt but I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning.”
It is unclear whether the Syndicate MMA product received stitches, but it is very likely given the severity of the injury.
Hendricks has alternated between wins and losses since joining the PFL roster. He is now 2-2, with wins against Hamlet and former PFL light heavyweight champion Emiliano Sordi and losses to Chris Camozzi and Hamlet.
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