Cody Garbrandt was left throwing up into a bucket after suffering three low blows in quick succession – but still went on to eke out the win in a bizarre fight at UFC 326.
Former bantamweight champion Garbrandt was up against Chinese fighter Xiao Long, hoping to get back in the win column after two successive losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Raoni Barcelos.
”No Love” put in an encouraging first-round performance, dropping Xiao with a fierce elbow up against the fence, but his outing threatened to be derailed when Xiao connected with the groin not once but twice in the second round.
The second shot, a toe kick to the privates, left Garbrandt lying in agony and the American was soon seen throwing up, initially directly onto the canvas before someone came into the octagon to give him a bucket.
Garbrandt had five minutes to recover but after getting back to his feet and wiping his mouth, he resumed the fight having used just half of that allotted time, with Xiao being deducted a point by referee Herb Dean.
Garbrandt gave his opponent something of a death stare before flying out of the blocks, sending the crowd into raptures.
But the action didn’t get much of a chance kick on again, with Garbrandt falling victim of a third low blow to Xiao before the second round’s end.
That resulted in another point deducted for Xiao, meaning he could not win the bout without a finish.
It led to a bizarre third round, with Xiao knowing he had to go all guns blazing to save the fight, while Garbrandt went as far as to literally run away from his opponent to stay out of the danger zone.
“No Love” managed to see out the contest after subduing Xiao in the clinch, but the drama was not over at the buzzer with Dean needing to hold an incensed Garbrandt back from Xiao.
The pair continued to argue before the result was made official, with UFC security entering the cage to prevent anything from breaking out.
Garbrandt emerged victorious on the scorecards by unanimous decision and Xiao was left to rue his crucial two-point deduction, with all judges scoring the bout 28-27 in the American’s favour.