Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the FOX Sports 1 airwaves last Saturday night (Oct. 27, 2018) with the UFC Fight Night 138 mixed martial arts (MMA) event inside Moncton Events Centre in New Brunswick, Canada.
Headlining the network-televised fight card was the light heavyweight showdown pitting ex-division No. 1 contender, Volkan Oezdemir, opposite dangerous 205-pound slugger Anthony Smith, a back-and-forth battle that “Lionheart” won by third-round submission (replay).
Unfortunately they both came up losers in the fight to stay active, as New Brunswick Combat Sports Commission decided to bench both bruisers for up to 180 days, unless otherwise cleared by a physician to return to action. And they weren’t the only ones.
Here are the complete UFC Moncton medical suspensions along with their corresponding injuries.
Anthony Smith: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by chest x-ray and right hand x-ray; minimum suspension of 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Volkan Oezdemir: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by face CT and right ankle x-ray; minimum suspension of 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Sean Strickland: Suspended 180 days or until left knee cleared by doctor; minimum suspension of 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Nordine Taleb: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by ophthalmologist; minimum suspension of 60 days no contest, 45 days no contact
Nasrat Haqparast: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by left hand x-ray; minimum suspension of 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Chris Fishgold: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by right foot x-ray; minimum suspension of 60 days no contest, 45 days no contact
Marcelo Golm: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by right foot x-ray; minimum suspension of 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Ed Herman: Suspended 60 days
Gian Villante: Suspended 60 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Thibault Gouti: Suspended 60 days no contest, 45 days no contact
Te Edwards: Suspended 60 days no contest, 45 days no contact
Artem Lobov: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Jonathan Martinez: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Court McGee: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Arjan Bhullar: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Stevie Ray: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Jessie Ayari: Suspended 30 days no contest, 21 days no contact
Patrick Cummins: 14-day rest period
Andre Soukhamthath: 14-day rest period
Talita Bernardo: 14-day rest period
There you have it.
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 a complete wrap up of all the UFC Moncton weekend festivities click here.