Anyone that tuned in for UFC Fight Night 106 saw a very, very messy mat by the end of the night. That’s not necessarily unusual for an MMA event, of course, but what made tonight’s well-painted canvas noteworthy was the fact that all the red came from just one man; Joe Soto.
A clash of heads split Soto wide open in the first round and, despite the doctors’ best efforts, that wound just wouldn’t stay sealed:
Soto continued to fight on, however, and the result was a crimson mask that became a crimson tuxedo:
Somehow, some way, Soto actually got stronger as the fight went on. That wasn’t the case with his opponent, Rani Yahya, who wound up outpaced and outmuscled by the former Bellator champion, despite the fact that his gas tank was emptying all over the Octagon!
In the end, Soto managed to take home an unanimous-decision win with a surprisingly gutsy performance. Here’s hoping that he recovers quickly…and that his next fight doesn’t drain him quite so much.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com