When you let a fighter with the size and strength of Alistair Overeem knee you repeatedly in the ribs, there’s a pretty good chance that one (or more) of them will fail.
That’s what happened to Aleksei Oleinik in the UFC Saint Petersburg main event last weekend in Russia (video replay here), and the result is a six-month medical suspension from UFC, acting as its own regulatory body in the absence of an athletic commission.
He wasn’t the only one.
Here is the complete list of UFC Saint Petersburg medical suspensions, courtesy of MMA Junkie:
Aleksei Oleinik: Suspended 180 days for left rib fracture unless cleared from orthopedic doctor
Seungwoo Choi: Suspended 180 days unless cleared by nasal X-ray; minimum suspension of 45 days for hard bout
Marcelo Golm: Suspended 60 days for knockout with 45 days of no contact
Marcin Tybura: Suspended 60 days for TKO with 45 days of no contact
Gadzhimurad Antigulov: Suspended 60 days for knockout with 45 days of no contact
Rafael Fiziev: Suspended 60 days for TKO with 45 days of no contact
Alen Amedovski: Suspended 30 days for right eyebrow laceration and 21 days of no contact
Shamil Abdurakhimov: Suspended 30 days for lip laceration and 21 days of no contactThe remaining fighters were hit with mandatory seven-day rest periods.
Alistair Overeem
Islam Makhachev
Arman Tsarukyan
Sergei Pavlovich
Roxanne Modafferi
Antonina Shevchenko
Krzysztof Jotko
Movsar Evloev
Sultan Aliev
Keita Nakamura
Alexander Yakovlev
Alex Da Silva
Michal Oleksiejczuk
Magomed Mustaev
Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases. In addition, not all injuries are recorded during the post-fight examination and often times surface in follow-up tests.
For complete UFC Saint Petersburg results, including play-by-play, click here.