Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:
Georges “Rush” St-Pierre retained his UFC welterweight championship for the sixth consecutive time on April 30, defeating top ranked contender Jake Shields with relative ease. What makes the feat all the more extraordinary is that St-Pierre did it with vision in just one eye.
Despite fighting nearly blind for most of the fight, the champion was able to keep Shields from taking him down the entire five round affair.
St-Pierre suffered from hyphema, a bleeding in the eye. He was required to wear an eye patch and use medicated drops until it healed. He has since improved and has been cleared to resume training.
One of St-Pierre’s trainers, Bruno Fernandes, is also an eye specialist. He said that in severe cases of hyphema the person can suffer permanent damage to their vision. Although Georges had only 10 percent of his vision at one point, his case was not severe and he has made a full recovery.