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Khetag Pliev, former Olympic freestyle wrestler turned professional MMA fighter, lost a finger in a Cage Fury Fighting Championships fight Thursday night at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Pliev, a four-time national wrestling champion known as the ‘Terminator’ who represented Canada at the 2012 London Olympics, suffered a horrific injury in the first or second round of a middleweight bout with Devin Goodale in the CFFC 94 main co-event, which was broadcast live on the UFC’s Fight Pass streaming service.
Goodale was declared the winner by technical knockout in the second round after referee David Osaghae discovered between rounds that Pliev’s left ring finger was no longer attached to his hand.
The official method of winning according to Sherdog.com was “Detached Finger”.
“They just made an announcement to the AP at # CFFC94 that they are trying to locate a fighter’s missing finger,” TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter said. tweeted. “He obviously fell into his glove during the fight and he’s missing somewhere in the room.”
Goodale did not clarify the bizarre situation in a post-fight interview.
“I don’t remember anything, I don’t know,” said Goodale, who improved to four out of four perfect wins as a professional. “I was hit by something big, I don’t remember what happened. I’m just being honest. I don’t remember what happened. I’m going to have to watch the tape myself, I can’t remember anything.
CM Punk, the former WWE star and UFC welterweight who worked as a color commentator for Thursday’s show, was also mystified in the immediate aftermath.
“I don’t understand exactly what happened,” Punk said. “We’re not going to replay it for you ladies and gentlemen, but it wasn’t a compound split. It wasn’t a dislocation, a rupture, a laceration. His finger was just gone. Let’s go. He fell, torn off.
Later Thursday ESPN confirmed Pliev’s finger was recovered and reattached by surgeons at a nearby hospital. CFFC President Rob Haydak said the detached figure had been lodged in Pliev’s glove.
Pliev, 37, who placed 10th in the 96kg weight class at the London Games, fell to 5-2 in mixed martial arts after Thursday’s fight, which was contracted to a weight of 180 pounds , five pounds under the limit of the middleweight division.
He also fought six times as a professional boxer in the cruiserweight division from 2017 to 2019, compiling a record five wins and one loss.
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