(Photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports)
During the third round of the UFC 131 main event bout between UFC heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin, referee Herb Dean ordered a halt to the action to call the cageside physician into the Octagon.
Carwin had been turned into a bloody mess by his opponent, with the majority of the damage coming near the end of the first round when Dos Santos unleashed a barrage of punches looking for the finish.
The doctor asked Carwin “How are you feeling? Can you see?”
With the cameras on Carwin answered “Oh yeah.”
Which it turns out was not the truth. Despite the doctor performing a few more quick tests of the heavyweights vision, Carwin bluffed his way through the rudimentary exam and was given the okay to carry on.
Now back in his home in Colorado, Carwin wrote a post-fight blog to update his fans on his current status, which can be found on his website www.shane-carwin.com.
In it Carwin admits that “I knew I was in trouble” after the second round, and that he “wasn’t able to see” despite telling the doctor he could.
“The end of the fight was pretty much a blur. Junior was a better fighter than I was last night. His boxing was better and he used his boxing to take me out of the fight. I have nothing but respect for Junior and his camp. He deserves the title shot.”
“After the second round I knew I was in trouble. My nose made it impossible to breathe, my eyes were full of blood and Junior was still coming at me. When the ref stopped the fight in the third, I thought it was over. When the doctor came in the octagon I knew it was going to be up to me to sell them on letting me continue. I knew I was in deep trouble but I also knew that all I needed was one clean shot. I wanted to keep myself in the fight. I wasn’t able to see but I said I could and we continued.”
Junior dos Santos would go on to win the fight easily, earning a unanimous decision victory by scores of 30–27, 30–27, and 30–26.