5 MMA fighters who won fights despite grave injuries 

#4 Eddie Alvarez

With his left eye swollen shut, Alvarez had to bring the dog out of him to beat Gilbert Melendez

In MMA, there are two kinds of fighters - those that fight to win and those that fight to fight. Rarely do we see a fighter who checks both boxes, one who doesn't back down from a scrap while making sure that victory doesn't escape him. Eddie Alvarez is one of those few who takes fans on an emotional rollercoaster ride with his slugfests while also becoming the 155 lbs king.

One of those blocking Alvarez's path to becoming the first man to hold belts in Bellator and UFC was former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

During the first round of their clash at UFC 188, Melendez broke Alvarez's nose and orbital bone with an elbow.

While walking back to his corner after the bell, Alvarez did the one thing that boxing legend George Foreman swears a fighter should never do between rounds - he blew his nose.

The resulting pressure sent the blood flooding into the damaged veins in the soft tissue surrounding his eye, which, being in tatters, couldn't retain the blood and forced his eye to swell shut.

In a later interview, Alvarez said that he had no idea how far the dangerous Melendez was from him. His heart racing, not just because of the predicament but also the 7000-foot altitude of Mexico City, Alvarez had to give it everything he had. His then coach, Henri Hooft, helped calm him down from the corner and Alvarez started using his takedowns to claw his way to a split decision win.