UFC Fight Night 78 in Monterrey, Mexico, delivered some nasty leg kicks over the course of the day/night, resulting in Scott Jorgensen collapsing to the mat and tapping out in the second round to Alejandro Perez, Diego Sanchez limping out of the cage after enduring 15 minutes of Ricardo Lamas’ leg kicks and Henry Cejudo speculating he broke “part of (his) bone” on his way to victory over Jussier Formiga.
Ever since Anderson Silva’s grotesque break at UFC 168, a sense of dread has developed over the course of a fight with effective leg kicks—or, it has for me, anyway. And to watch huge bruises develop as the fighter’s leg goes shaky underneath him, and see him avoid putting weight on it? That’s uncomfortable to witness.
Leg-kick TKOs are rare. The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 finale not only featured one, but another fight was shaped, in part, by brutal leg kicks that left Sanchez unable to bear weight on one leg.
Alejandro Perez vs. Scott Jorgensen
At just 34 seconds into Round 2, the cumulative effects of Perez’s leg kicks, mostly delivered in the first round, overwhelmed Jorgensen, who fell to the mat after trying to throw a kick with his left leg.
After seeing Jorgensen wobble in the first round, even falling once when his leg gave out, and witnessing his quick end in Round 2, the Twittersphere expressed concern that neither Jorgensen’s corner nor the referee stopped the fight after Round 1. Jorgensen and his coach Kit Cope were quick to clarify that no one knew what they were talking about:
That’s why I’m the coach and you’re the “reporter”. He did amazing on one leg with a minor soft tissue injury. https://t.co/er93sXpzoP
— Kit Cope (@KitCope) November 22, 2015
@CrooklynMMA @Patrick_Wyman if kit woulda stopped it I would have been pissed. But then again u “reporters” don’t know much about this life
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) November 22, 2015
While the extent of the damage isn’t known, Jorgensen tweeted that, at least, nothing appears to be broken. Perez joins the likes of Edson Barboza, Keith Jardine and Pat Barry as one of the few fighters to stop a fight with leg kicks in the UFC.
Ricardo Lamas vs. Diego Sanchez
Throughout the fight, which went all three rounds, Sanchez was his usual glutton for punishment as Lamas nearly crippled him with leg kicks. With almost half of his total strikes coming via leg kick, per FightMetric, Lamas left Sanchez hopping on one foot as he backed up against the cage before gesturing, inexplicably, for more.
Lamas outstruck Sanchez and scored three takedowns to The Dream’s one. Unsurprisingly, the decision went unanimously to Lamas, and Sanchez limped out of the cage, aided by his cornermen. Lamas issued this warning following his win:
Lamas: This was a reminder for the entire world that opponents can’t use me as a stepping stone in this division. #UFCMonterrey
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 22, 2015
Henry Cejudo vs. Jussier Formiga
While leg kicks weren’t a prevalent part of this fight, Cejudo, who won via split decision, suffered an injury via leg kick. He said in a post-fight interview as transcribed by Sherdog: “He kicked me pretty hard. I felt like he broke part of my bone [on my shin], but everything else is good.”
During the live broadcast of the post-fight interview, the camera showed a considerable swelling on Cejudo’s leg. Formiga landed just two leg kicks during the fight.
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