MMA fighter LOSES A FINGER during a bout in Philadelphia, with PA announcer asking if anyone in the crowd has spotted it… before it’s found INSIDE his glove and is reattached after a dash to hospital
- Khetag Pliev’s left index finger was torn off during his bout with Devin Goodale
- The missing digit had sparked a scramble to locate it at the Philadelphia venue
- It was eventually found lodged inside his glove and then reattached in hospital
- Goodale was crowned the winner by TKO in the second round after the injury
MMA fighter Khetag Pliev lost a finger during a Cage Fury Fighting Championships bout – and was forced to have it reattached after being rushed to hospital.
Pliev, a former Olympic freestyle wrestler, was agonisingly left down a digit during the first two rounds of his middleweight bout with Devin Goodale.
Those at the venue in Philadelphia were left scrambling around to find the finger whilst the incident was shown live on the UFC’s Fight Pass streaming platform.
MMA fighter Khetag Pliev saw a finger detached in a Cage Fury Fighting Championships bout
Former freestyle wrestler Pliev (R) was rushed to hospital and the finger was then reattached
Goodale was crowned the winner by technical knockout in the second round after the referee, David Osaghae, discovered that Pliev’s left ring finger was missing.
After the gruesome nature of the injury was laid bare, officials searched around the cage and there were also calls over the PA system for other people to help out.
It was soon discovered that the finger detached completely inside Pliev’s glove before becoming lodged there.
Those at the Philadelphia venue was asked to search for the finger after the injury was laid bare
Pliev, 37, told ESPN that he was rushed in for surgery – and was informed by a doctor that he had torn 50 per cent of the tendon in the finger.
‘In the second round, he caught my glove with one hand and held it,’ Pliev said. ‘I felt my finger snapped. He kept pulling my glove and my finger snapped.
‘We kept fighting. When the second round was finished, I see my [bone] was out in the open.
‘I wanted to keep fighting, because I felt like I had this guy. But the doctor saw that and stopped the fight.’
Pliev’s missing digit was discovered lodged inside his glove and he was taken away for surgery
The official method of victory was reportedly listed as ‘Detached Finger’.
Pliev also insisted that he will appeal the result with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, pointing out the illegal grabbing of his gloves during the fight.
Former UFC welterweight CM Punk had been providing commentary for the coverage on Thursday and was bewildered during his description of the moment.
‘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 fracture.
A gruesome photo taken by Pliev showed his finger successfully reattached on Thursday night
‘It wasn’t a dislocation, a break, a laceration. His finger was just gone. It’s gone. It fell off, ripped off.’
The victorious Goodale admitted during his post-fight interview that he doesn’t recall much of the incident.
‘I can’t remember anything, I don’t know,’ said Goodale. ‘I got hit by something big, I don’t remember what happened. I’m just being honest.
‘I don’t remember what happened. I’ll have to watch the tape myself, I don’t remember anything.’