The Mac
06-13-2010, 11:07 PM
Rich Franklin is en route to Las Vegas for surgery after his first-round knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 this past Saturday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
J.T. Stewart, Franklin's business manager, today told MMAjunkie.com that his client suffered a broken left ulna when blocking a kick from Liddell early in the fight.
"Ace" will see an orthopedic surgeon to correct the damage.
"I think they're going to put a plate and a couple of screws in his arm to put it back together," Stewart said.
The ulna bone runs the length of the forearm and is parallel to the radius bone. The bone gets thinner in diameter as it gets closer to the wrist, which makes it vulnerable to hard kicks.
UFC Hall of Fame member Randy Couture suffered a similar injury – sometimes called a "nightstick fracture" in law-enforcement circles – when he blocked a high kick from Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74.
Franklin (26-5 MMA, 13-4 UFC) knocked out Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC) with a short right hand as "The Iceman" stormed in for the kill during the the first round's final seconds.
UFC president Dana White said the former light-heavyweight champion and MMA superstar is now officially retired.
Franklin arrived at the post-event press conference with his left arm in a sling and a large bag of ice resting on it. He was immediately aware that he'd broken his arm after Liddell's kick, which he believed came in the first two minutes of the fight.
Along with a "bittersweet" feeling at ending Liddell's career, Franklin was somewhat relieved to end the fight early.
"I definitely wasn't going to quit – I've broken bones before and continued fighting – but there was part of me that was wondering what kind of strategy I was going to use to win the fight with a broken left arm in the second and third rounds," he said.
More information on Franklin's injury and its window of recovery will be available after he meets the Las Vegas specialist.
J.T. Stewart, Franklin's business manager, today told MMAjunkie.com that his client suffered a broken left ulna when blocking a kick from Liddell early in the fight.
"Ace" will see an orthopedic surgeon to correct the damage.
"I think they're going to put a plate and a couple of screws in his arm to put it back together," Stewart said.
The ulna bone runs the length of the forearm and is parallel to the radius bone. The bone gets thinner in diameter as it gets closer to the wrist, which makes it vulnerable to hard kicks.
UFC Hall of Fame member Randy Couture suffered a similar injury – sometimes called a "nightstick fracture" in law-enforcement circles – when he blocked a high kick from Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74.
Franklin (26-5 MMA, 13-4 UFC) knocked out Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC) with a short right hand as "The Iceman" stormed in for the kill during the the first round's final seconds.
UFC president Dana White said the former light-heavyweight champion and MMA superstar is now officially retired.
Franklin arrived at the post-event press conference with his left arm in a sling and a large bag of ice resting on it. He was immediately aware that he'd broken his arm after Liddell's kick, which he believed came in the first two minutes of the fight.
Along with a "bittersweet" feeling at ending Liddell's career, Franklin was somewhat relieved to end the fight early.
"I definitely wasn't going to quit – I've broken bones before and continued fighting – but there was part of me that was wondering what kind of strategy I was going to use to win the fight with a broken left arm in the second and third rounds," he said.
More information on Franklin's injury and its window of recovery will be available after he meets the Las Vegas specialist.