Most people who have watched a lot of combat sports have seen fights stopped on cuts. Usually, the laceration is on a fighter’s face.
Saturday night at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jack Shore took a TKO loss because of a nasty gash on his left leg. The cut was opened as Shore absorbed multiple stiff leg kicks from his opponent, Joanderson Brito.
The referee called the doctor into the Octagon because Shore’s leg was bleeding profusely. The Octagon doctor examined the cut and deemed Shore unable to continue.
Dr. Brian Sutterer was critical of the doctor’s decision to push his figure into the open wound during his examination.
According to multiple reports, the doctor called an end to the fight because he feared Shore’s leg was broken. Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter posted this on X:
The reaction from most in the MMA community was similar, as most seemed to acknowledge the nastiness of the gash.
At the point of the stoppage, Brito was up on the scorecards and seemed to be moving toward a victory.
Some didn’t believe the fight should have been stopped as many pointed out the area of the body should’ve rendered a bit more leniency from the referee and doctor.
Angela Hill reminded us that perhaps the only other stoppage was due to a leg cut. Melvin Manhoef was stopped at One FC 3 for a cut that looked even worse than Shore’s laceration.
At least on Saturday, Brito seemed to be the better fighter, so the decision to stop the fight might have only been a formality. Had Shore won the first round or been in control of the second when the fight was stopped, we might have had a controversy.
As it is, the doctor and referee might have saved Shore from taking some unnecessary damage to his leg.
It will be interesting to see if X-rays show Shore did have a broken leg or if an MRI shows some ligament or tissue damage.
Brito’s win was his fifth in a row, and he moved to 17-3-1 as a professional. Shore dropped to 17-2. He’s now lost two of his last three. Shore had defeated Makwan Amirkhani in March 2023, but Ricky Simon submitted him in July 2022.
Here is a look at all of the results from UFC 301:
Main Card
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg
- Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez
- Anthony Smith def. Vitor Petrino via sub (guillotine) (R1, 2:00)
- Michel Pereira def. Ihor Potieria via first-round sub (RNC) (0:54)
- Caio Borralho def. Paul Craig via second-round KO (2:10)
Mid-Prelims
- Joanderson Brito def. Jack Shore via TKO (R2, 3:35)
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision
- Myktybek Orolbai def. Elves Brener via unanimous decision (29-27 x3)
- Drakkar Klose def. Joaquim Silva via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Early Prelims
- Mauricio Ruffy def. Jamie Mullarkey via first-round TKO (4:42)
- Dione Barbosa def. Ernesta Kareckaite via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
- Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via second-round TKO (1:35)
