Two spectacular combat sports events have come to an end, providing fight fans the much-needed excitement on Mexican Independence Day weekend. The Canelo Alvarez–Edgar Berlanga marquee boxing event butted heads with UFC 306 (Noche UFC), and both delivered some high-octane action. Along with the action – cuts and bruises are inevitable consequences of battle inside the squared circle or the Octagon. What’s important is to prevent an injury from becoming a serious medical emergency.

However, the showdown between former women’s bantamweight title challenger Irene Aldana and Norma Dumont on a stacked UFC fight card at the Sphere had turned into a nightmarish night for the former. Early into the three-round contest, the fighters clashed heads while they tried to engage with each other in the pocket, opening up a horrific, long gash on the right side of Irene’s forehead. “So a nasty gash, slot machine-esque, on the forehead of Irene Aldana. It was a clash of heads, the cut man did what he could, but Aldana is leaking,”  Veteran UFC commentator John Anik said. Blood poured out from her head onto the canvas. But, what’s worse is that the referee didn’t think the cut was bad enough to stop the fight.

Inevitably, Irene’s opponent Dumont capitalized on Aldana’s gaping wound and targeted her strikes on the area of the head that was bleeding. Although Irene showed immense courage and determination to continue despite the injury, she suffered a unanimous decision loss, with her opponent outlanding the Mexican on significant strikes.

At the end of the blood-soaked showdown, Irene was immediately rushed to the hospital to receive treatment for her wound. Thankfully, UFC doctor Greg Hsu stitched up the wound and acknowledged her bravery in a post on Instagram. Meanwhile, fans in the comment section were horrified that the fight was allowed to continue despite a fighter suffering possibly one of the worst cuts in UFC history.

Are we sacrificing our humanity for entertainment?

One fan lauded Aldana’s courage to continue despite carrying a horrific cut on her head. They commented, “She’s a warrior.” Notably, this isn’t the first time that she carried on in a fight despite receiving heavy punishment. During her fight against Karol Rosa at UFC 296 in Sin City, Aldana was on the receiving end of some gruesome damage as her legs swelled up badly due to her opponent’s vicious leg kicks.

Meanwhile, one fan felt that the gash on Aldana’s head was so long that it looked like the “Face literally split in two” Clearly, the cut was so gruesome that it had the potential of becoming a serious medical emergency.

On the other hand, one fan feels that Irene’s corner should have stopped the fight after it became evident that the bleeding could not be stopped. They remarked, “Her corner should’ve stopped the fight. That is nasty!” Notably, after the conclusion of the UFC 306 event, Dana White stated that both fighters did not suffer any serious head trauma. “They’ve got some stitches – that’s about it, they were transported for head and face scans and I think they’re good, or [the scans] came back good.”

Meanwhile, another fan who was shocked by the gruesome head wound, lamented, “Are we murdering people on live television now? Jesus. That should have been stopped.” Safe to say, some fans are demanding more stringent safety regulations so that fights can be stopped if such a situation arises again.

One fan had a hard time stomaching the bitter consequences of combat sports. They wrote, “Is this a sport? What have we become?” Safe to say, there is still a long way to go in combat sports to minimize the mental and physical damage inflicted on fighters, specifically in MMA.

Can you recount any other horrific cuts or injuries you have witnessed in the world of sports? Moreover, do you think the fight between Irene Aldana and Norma Dumont should have been allowed to continue? Let us know in the comment section below.