What happens when you’re injured during a fight? Nate Diaz, Sean O’Malley, and Luke Rockhold explain
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The MMA Notebook runs every Friday.
In this edition:
How to hide an injury during a fight
Steve Erceg faces rugged test in Brandon Moreno
Weekend predictions
What happens when you’re injured during a fight?
Injuries are an inevitable part of fighting.
So what happens when you get hurt during a fight?
Back in 2019, Nate Diaz headlined the UFC’s yearly voyage to Madison Square Garden. He fought Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244, and the winner was set to receive the inaugural BMF title wrapped around his waist by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Only four months removed from obliterating Ben Askren, setting a UFC record by knocking him out in only five seconds, Masvidal was in the midst of the hottest stretch of his career.
Diaz, however, was entering with a different set of circumstances.
Two months prior, Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis in a five-round bout. Despite proclaiming the complete opposite, he was in no position to fight Masvidal, especially with such a quick turnaround.
But there was no way Diaz was missing the MSG card. He was in store for a hefty paycheck, and headlining the World’s Most Famous Arena was too much for him to pass up.
“I fought that fight with a torn meniscus,” said Diaz. “I could hardly walk. But I had to show up. You don’t talk shit and not show up.”
The bout ended by doctor stoppage after the third round, which resulted in a TKO victory for Masvidal. Despite his lack of mobility, Diaz had believed land the shot to hobble Masvidal. That never happened, but it didn’t alter Diaz’s mindset.
“I’m the king of the fight game,” said Diaz. “That ain’t changing.”
In addition to injuries happening during a fight, there are times when a fighter hides an injury–rolling the dice that he can still find a way to win. That was exactly what happened in the summer of 2023 in Boston when Aljamain Sterling defended his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley.
Unbeknownst to Sterling, he was entering his UFC 292 fight against O’Malley with an enormous advantage.
“I had a muscle strain, and I literally couldn’t grapple,” said O’Malley. “There was no shot I was pulling out of the main event, but I literally couldn’t grapple. I didn’t grapple at all fight week.”
O’Malley fought the first round on his feet, temporarily hiding the fact he was compromised. But Sterling is an exceptional wrestler, and he was bound to expose O’Malley’s injury. Then the stars aligned for O’Malley in the second round two, as he landed a vicious right hand that effectively ended the fight–and won him the bantamweight title.
“In every interview, I kept saying, ‘It’s life or death if he takes me down,’” said O’Malley. “I was referring to that [muscle strain], but I wasn’t going to come out and say I was injured.”
Literally and figuratively, Luke Rockhold found himself in a different state than O’Malley. In addition to fighting Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August of 2022, he was battling the altitude of Salt Lake City, Utah.
“It affects everyone differently,” explained Rockhold. “At the same time, it will get you. It will rob you. You can’t recover from that energy loss.”
After training at high altitude, Rockhold thought he was properly prepared.
Then the fight started.
Rockhold envisioned a great fight–one that would reignite his momentum. He genuinely believed that was going to be the case right up until Costa landed a blow that broke his nose.
“I couldn’t breathe out of my nose,” said Rockhold. “I was doubly compromised, unfortunately. It robs you the oxygen out of your blood.”
In the moment, Rockhold was focused solely on survival. But with the benefit of more time to reflect on the bout, he reminisced about the Fabricio Wedrum-Cain Velasquez showdown from UFC 188 in 2015. That fight took place in Mexico City, 7,382 feet above sea level, and Velasquez was simply unable to acclimate himself to his new surroundings.
“I was there with Cain Velasquez when he fought Werdum, and Werdum was there for three months training,” said Rockhold, who watched Velasquez get trounced. “Your body has to adapt to that altitude to really conserve the oxygen. Otherwise, you end up like Cain Velasquez–or myself–and you’re just dead.”
The broken nose was too much for Rockhold to conquer. He attempted to trick his mind into thinking he was healthy, but the lack of oxygen and pools of blood he was swallowing significantly limited him from executing his game plan.
“My mind was telling me something my body couldn’t do,” said Rockhold. “That’s what happened.”
Despite earning Fight of the Night honors, Rockhold lost to Costa by unanimous decision. It marked his third straight loss, as well as his fourth defeat in five fights. He has yet to return to the UFC since that bout, though he has continued fighting.
Rockhold stepped into the ring two summers ago for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He squared off against Mike Perry–a fighter who was not on his level in the UFC. But bare knuckle is a whole other realm, and Rockhold learned that the hard way when a shoddy mouth guard failed to protect him from Perry’s ferocious fists.
“MMA, you have to kill me to get me out of there,” said Rockhold, who stopped the fight in the second round. “Bare knuckle boxing? I’m not going to lose my grill for that. I felt my teeth go in. Mike kept chasing me, hitting me in the body, and I thought, ‘There’s just no fucking I’m losing my grill for this sport. It’s not worth it.’ That was that. It was a one-and-done kind of thing.”
With his teeth rattling, Rockhold opted not to continue. That is not a decision he would not have made in the cage–where dealing with injuries is part of the sport’s pulse.
“If that was fighting, I would have ended up looking chiseled at the end of it,” said Rockhold. “But bare knuckle boxing is a different, dumb animal.”
Proving ground for Steve Erceg against Brandon Moreno
Steve Erceg won his first three fights in the UFC. When there was no other challenger ready for flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, it was Erceg who stepped into a title bout in May of 2024 and took the champ to the brink. If not for the fifth round, Erceg would have walked away with the belt.
Since then, however, it has been an entirely different story.
Erceg (12-3) lost last August to Kai Kara-France. Now he has a bout against Brandon Moreno this Saturday in Mexico City. If Erceg fails to win, then he steps into unwelcomed territory with a three-fight losing streak.
A former two-time flyweight champ, Moreno (22-8-2) defeated Amir Albazi by unanimous decision in November. That was an important victory, as it had looked like Moreno had aged during a two-fight losing streak against Pantoja and Brandon Royval. Yet a win here puts him right back in the thick of the title picture.
Even though Pantoja has already beat him twice (three times when you include their bout on The Ultimate Fighter), there is a dearth of contenders for Pantoja–and Moreno remains one of the most exciting flyweights in the world. Only 31, Moreno could still have another run atop the division.
But Erceg needs this win. His dozen victories will suddenly look hollow if he falls short here, especially considering he’ll then be 0-for-3 against elite flyweights.
The Pick ‘Em Section
UFC Fight Night Mexico City flyweight bout: Steve Erceg vs. Brandon Moreno
Pick: Brandon Moreno
UFC Fight Night Mexico City lightweight bout: Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober
Pick: Drew Dober
UFC Fight Night Mexico City middleweight bout: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
Pick: Kelvin Gastelum
UFC Fight Night Mexico City bantamweight bout: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Vince Morales
Pick: Raul Rosas Jr.
UFC Fight Night Mexico City bantamweight bout: David Martinez vs. Saimon Oliveira
Pick: David Martinez