Khetag Pliev Loses Finger At CFFC 94
What happened to Khetag Pliev on Thursday night was most definitely not an April Fool’s joke.
In the co-main event of CFFC 94 – streamed live on UFC Fight Pass – Pliev took on Devin Goodale in a 180-pound catchweight fight. At the conclusion of the second round, Pliev returned to his corner where they made a frightening discovery. Not only had his ring finger broken, but it was no longer attached to his left hand.
The bout was waved off while the cornermen and cage-side doctors frantically began looking for the missing digit. A PA announcement inside the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia made those in attendance aware of what was happening, while CFFC commentator CM Punk clued in those watching at home.
“It wasn’t a compound fracture. It wasn’t a break. His finger is gone,” Punk said.
Thanks to an eagle-eyed fan on Twitter, it was discovered that the finger was broken by a deflected high-kick. In the subsequent grappling exchange, Pliev’s finger was further bent until finally becoming dislodged.
Fortunately, CFFC president Rob Haydak revealed that the finger was found inside of Pliev’s glove. He was transported to the hospital to have it reattached. Haydak shared a photo of the graphic injury from inside the ambulance on his Instagram account.
After the surgery, Pliev reached out to ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi to let him know all had gone well.
“In the second round, he caught my glove with one hand and held it,” Pliev told ESPN. “I felt my finger snapped. He kept pulling my glove and my finger snapped. We kept fighting. When the second round was finished, I see my [bone] was out in the open. I wanted to keep fighting, because I felt like I had this guy. But the doctor saw that and stopped the fight.”
In a sport where nearly anything can and has happened, the injury was one of the more gruesome we’ve seen; it’s certainly the worst since Max Griffin nearly took his opponent’s ear off. It’s good to see that Pliev remains in relatively good spirits, and hopefully all goes well in his recovery.
What’s the worst injury you’ve seen in an MMA bout? Let us know!
