5 of the worst injuries in MMA history

#5 Marvin Eastman’s head gets carved open

Over the years we’ve seen some really nasty cuts in MMA, to practically every area on the head. And some of them are definitely hard to look at – remember the gash in Robbie Lawler’s lip following his fight with Rory MacDonald, for instance?

When it comes to cuts in MMA, though, the gold standard for absolute worst has to go to Marvin Eastman. A former K-1 kickboxer, Eastman was signed by the UFC in 2003 after going 5-2 on the regional circuit and knocking out his last two opponents.

Unfortunately for Eastman, he was faced with none other than Vitor Belfort in his first fight inside the Octagon. And Belfort wasted no time in putting him away, swarming him with a flurry before hitting ‘The Beastman’ with a series of jumping knees from the clinch.

Eastman went down and Belfort quickly sealed the deal with a rapid-fire series of punches, leaving the newcomer unconscious. The fight was called off but it was only in the post-match period that the worst thing to happen to Eastman was revealed.

A huge gash had been opened on Eastman’s forehead, just above his right eye. Whether it’d been caused by the knees or the follow-up punches didn’t really matter - it looked like he’d been hit in the head with a machete.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan even compared the cut to a “goat’s vagina” – a strange comparison, but one that almost seemed apt, as there were no real words to describe such a horrific cut. Some 15 years later, it’s never been topped – which is probably a good thing for today’s fighters.