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An MMA fighter in the United States has suffered a horrific head injury after colliding with an exposed cage bracket during a fight.
Hunter Boone suffered the injury in his featherweight clash with Jordan Brown at a Martial Combat League (MCL) event on Saturday, according to MyMMANews.com.
Boone was reportedly taken down by Brown in the opening moments of the fight and hit his head on an unprotected cage bracket.
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It resulted in the huge wound to his head, which required 17 staples to close.
WARNING – EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW
MyMMANews.com has been in contact with Boone, who is said to be “resting and healing” after being treated in hospital.
Boone’s coach Jason Greer, who was in his corner for the fight, has explained how the injury occurred.
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“A few seconds after the bell rung Hunter and his opponent spun into the cage,” Greer wrote in a post on Facebook.
“His opponent had a collar tie and as they hit the fence Hunter’s head slammed into the gate resulting in Hunter suffering a 20-centimetre gash across the front of his hairline from the left to the right, down the right side and towards the back basically scalping him.
“It knocked him unconscious immediately but he had regained consciousness before he hit the ground.
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“Knowing he had just received a fight ending blow he started scrambling from the cocoon with the idea of a triangle.
“Fighting for the win against all odds! I had no idea in the moment what had even happened after the ref stopped the fight and immediately called for the doctor.”
The MCL issued a statement via their Facebook page after the event, claiming all correct procedures had been followed in assembling the cage.
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“We understand and appreciate everyone’s concern on what happened and our hearts are with the individual who was injured in this incident,” read the statement.
“We were in just as much shock as anyone when this occurred. We assembled our cage no differently than we have for each of our previous events. It is our understanding that the sanctioning commission of the event inspected the cage prior to the show.
“No issues with the cage where brought to our attention by the sanctioning commission. There was a very unfortunate event that occurred during a takedown near the door of our cage.
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“How the injury occurred is still undetermined and there was no clear sign as to what or why this injury took place.
“After the cage was cleared of the incident, our cage was fully inspected by multiple individuals of the sanctioning commission and our cage was deemed necessary to continue.
“We don’t have an answer as to why this injury occurred and we’re, without a doubt, extremely sorry to the individual who suffered this injury.”
Topics: UFC
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