(Photo courtesy of photographer
Paul Thatcher and FIGHT! Magazine.
NOTE: This photograph has not been altered in any way other than adding the
FIGHT! Magazine watermark.)
Just two
fights into the UFC Fight for the Troops benefit show on Wednesday night in
Fayetteville, N.C., and the show quickly took a downhill turn.
After
Justin McCully opened the show by rebounding from a
UFC 86 loss to Gabriel Gonzaga, by decisioning Eddie
Sanchez, Dale Hartt nabbed his first win in the
Octagon. Winning the way that he did, however, probably couldn't have been any
worse for Hartt, unless he was his opponent, Corey
Hill.
MMAWeekly.com
had Hill winning the opening round of the fight. But during the second stanza,
Hill threw a leg kick that Hartt checked with his
shin. As Hartt checked the kick, Hill's leg broke in
a rather grotesque manner, leaving the crowd in a stunned silence as Hill
crumbled to the mat.
In an
interview with MMAWeekly.com prior to the fight, Dale Hartt
said, “I need to get back to my roots. For me to be successful in the UFC, I
have to get back to my roots and not worry about my fights being exciting. I
need to not worry about the result. I need to just worry about the journey; I
need to worry about the road. I’m going to go in there and I’m going to have a
good time.”
Hartt
managed to get the win that he had been searching for, but it surely didn't
come the way he had hoped, nor did he likely have a good time. But he did show
a lot of respect for Hill in staying by his side in the Octagon.
According
to Matt Brown of FIGHT! Magazine, Hill's leg was set and an air cast applied
before he left the Octagon.
If Corey Hill can give
this much of his body for the U.S. Troops, please do whatever you can to help
raise funds for the U.S. Troops via the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
(*This article has been updated
since it's original posting. The photo from Paul Thatcher at FIGHT! Magazine
was added and incorrect details of how the injury occurred have been updated
for accuracy.)
