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Hey, my guys and ghouls! In this edition of the Injury Report, we get into UFC fighter Danny Barlow getting his first UFC win with a broken arm! Plus, we have some more gnarly injuries in the Bare Knuckle Bruisin’ category.
Ready? Enjoy!
Bad Breaks with UFC fighters Danny Barlow and Rinya Nakamura
Danny Barlow (arm)
Who got a win under the worst circumstances at UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria this past Saturday. Danny Barlow!
The Contender Series signee — who earned a UFC contract with a first-round KO of Raheam Forest in September — was sharp in his first Octagon appearance against Josh Quinlan. Aptly nicknamed ‘LeftHand2God,’ Barlow used his left hand to finish Quinlan in a sequence that sent ‘Bushido’ to the canvas a few times. After his win, Barlow said this in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan:
“I broke my arm in the first round. I ain’t tell my coach. Been broke my left hand, too.”
WHAT!? Barlow did what he did to Quinlan with a broken arm!? Unreal.
He shared a photo of an X-ray that showed a break in his forearm, which may or may not require surgery. You can read some more of his post-fight thoughts in this interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting.
Also this is the damage done to Quinlan by a one-armed Barlow:
Rinya Nakamura (hand)
Similar to Danny Barlow, UFC fighter Rinya Nakamura also had to fight through some less-than-ideal circumstances as he broke his hand against Carlos Vera.
ATTN: Needs Medical Clearance
UFC 298 medical suspensions
Aside from Danny Barlow, who else from UFC 298 needs clearance to return to competition? We have the list from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), courtesy of Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting.
| Fighter | Result | Length of Suspension |
| Ilia Topuria | Second-round KO win against Alexander Volkanovski | Seven days |
| Alexander Volkanovski | Second-round KO loss to Ilia Topuria | 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to KO |
| Robert Whittaker | Unanimous decision win against Paulo Costa | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential hand fracture); 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared (due to laceration on right eye, foot); 45 days (mandatory), 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Paulo Costa | Unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential left leg, right foot fracture); 60 days no contest, 60 days no contact unless cleared (due to laceration); 45 days (mandatory), 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Ian Machado Garry | Split decision win against Geoff Neal | Seven days |
| Geoff Neal | Split decision loss to Ian Machado Garry | Seven days |
| Merab Dvalishvili | Unanimous decision win against Henry Cejudo | Seven days |
| Henry Cejudo | Unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential left forearm fracture) |
| Anthony Hernandez | Second-round sub win against Roman Kopylov | Seven days |
| Roman Kopylov | Second-round sub loss to Anthony Hernandez | Seven days |
| Amanda Lemos | Unanimous decision win against Mackenzie Dern | 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Mackenzie Dern | Unanimous decision loss to Amanda Lemos | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential left leg fracture, CT scan); 45 days no contest (mandatory), 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Marcos Rogerio de Lima | Second-round TKO win against Junior Tafa | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential right foot fracture) |
| Junior Tafa | Second-round TKO loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima | 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to TKO |
| Rinya Nakamura | Unanimous decision win against Carlos Vera | Seven days |
| Carlos Vera | Unanimous decision loss to Rinya Nakamura | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential shoulder fracture) |
| Zhang Mingyang | First-round KO win against Brendson Ribeiro | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential right hand fracture) |
| Brendson Ribeiro | First-round KO loss to Zhang Mingyang | 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to KO |
| Danny Barlow | Third-round TKO win against Josh Quinlan | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (due to potential left forearm fracture); 45 days no contest (mandatory), 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Josh Quinlan | Third-round TKO loss to Danny Barlow | 180 days no contest, 180 days no contact unless cleared (CT scan); 45 days no contest (mandatory), 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to TKO |
| Oban Elliott | Unanimous decision win against Val Woodburn | 45 days no contest , 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Val Woodburn | Unanimous decision loss to Oban Elliott | 45 days no contest , 30 days no contact with no exceptions due to hard bout |
| Miranda Maverick | Unanimous decision win against Andrea Lee | Seven days |
| Andrea Lee | Unanimous decision loss to Miranda Maverick | Seven days |
Re (Face) the Pain
Kevin Lee (knees)
A loss to Charles Oliveira continues to haunt Kevin Lee. On X (formerly Twitter), Lee commented on a video showing some highlights from that fight at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira nearly four years ago, which ended after he tapped to a guillotine in the third round.
However, most of the damage he suffered happened in the first round, where he was caught in everything from ankle locks to leg locks. According to Lee, he was — and still is — compromised after those sequences.
“Charles destroyed both my knees in the first round of this fight and we kept fighting,” posted Lee. “[Three] knee surgeries since and I’m still recovering four years later.
Since this event happened during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee had no idea how severe the damage was to his knees until a month or so after the fight.
“I didn’t know until weeks later how bad it was,” posted Lee. “Hospitals were shut down. But, let me be clear: I’m not taking away from Charles’ performance in that fight he did a great job and showed why he’s a champion. Fighting somebody like that is just dangerous [as f—k].”
Though still compromised, Lee is gearing up for a return from his retirement, so we could see the ‘Motown Phenom’ in the Octagon again.
Bare Knuckle Bruisin’
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) went to Virginia for its most recent Prospect Series event, where we were treated to a night of finishes (and injuries).
Here are the worst from BKFC Prospect Series: Manassas.
Bovar Khanakov (face)
Bovar Khanakov wanted to continue fighting James Brown, but the ringside physician was not having it. Not hard to see why.
Tre Cook (face)
A right hand from Murat Kilimetov did this to Tre Cook. Ouch.
Keepin’ up with KSW
Łukasz Charzewski (eye)
Not only did Łukasz Charzewski survive this eye injury, he also won his fight against Michal Sobiech at KSW 91 this past Saturday!