5 times a UFC fighter was let down by their corner

#4. Jared Hamman vs. Michael Kuiper – UFC 150

Jared Hamman's corner should've stopped his fight with Michael Kuiper when he suffered a serious leg injury.

Injuries are part and parcel of fighting in the UFC. However, unfortunately, we’ve seen numerous instances of injuries bringing fights to premature ends, much to the annoyance of the fighter suffering them.

In this instance, though, a fighter was allowed to continue a fight despite disclosing a serious injury to his corner. That brought into question whether they had the fighter's best interests at heart.

The fighter in question was light heavyweight Jared Hamman. At UFC 150, ‘The Messenger’ faced Michael Kuiper. Having gone 2-3 in his previous octagon appearances, it was probably fair to suggest his back was against the wall.

Unfortunately, the fight couldn’t have begun much worse for Hamman. He ate a number of clubbing punches from his Dutch opponent in the opening round. He also took a particularly bad leg kick that buckled his knee.

It quickly became clear that ‘The Messenger’ was struggling to stand. When he told his corner between rounds that he’d torn his hamstring, it looked like the fight would probably be stopped. Incredibly though, Hamman’s corner refused to throw in the towel, instead begging their fighter for 'one more round'.

Despite being in pain, Hamman duly obliged, and took a serious beating from Kuiper in the second round that ended with him getting knocked out.

Hamman did recover from the injury to fight in the UFC again, but he spent a year on the shelf recuperating. Why his corner felt it was safe for him to continue with such an injury remains a mystery to this day.

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#3. Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira – UFC Fight Night 171

Anthony Smith suffered a severe beating from Glover Teixeira in 2020.

There’s no disputing that Anthony Smith is one of the toughest fighters in UFC history. Over the years, his battles with opponents like Jon Jones, Mauricio Rua and Ryan Spann have more than earned him his ‘Lionheart’ nickname.

In May 2020, Smith took a truly inhuman beating from future UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. It was the kind of beating that could have been detrimental to Smith’s overall health. Even more disturbing was it could’ve been avoided.

The fight actually started well for Smith, who pushed the pace against Teixeira with his striking. However, as the bout went deeper, ‘Lionheart’ began to struggle, particularly on the ground.

After a seriously brutal third round, it was painfully clear that Smith was done. He’d taken a serious amount of abuse from his Brazilian foe, with referee Jason Herzog considering a stoppage more than once.

The fight was allowed to continue, though, and only got worse for ‘Lionheart’. After somehow surviving the fourth round, he told his cornermen that his teeth had been knocked out.

Sure, it seemed like a frank statement, but it should’ve been a red flag to his coaches, forcing them to throw in the towel. Instead, they let him go out for the fifth round, where the fight was mercifully stopped after one more minute.

Smith’s career has thankfully since recovered. He suffered a crazy amount of injuries in the fight with Teixeira including a broken nose and a broken orbital bone. To say his corner let him down here would probably be an understatement.