Horror moment Aussie UFC star thought his eye was ripped out after the fight had to be called off after the sickening scenes
- Justin Tafa received a shocking eye prick
- Aussie thought his eye was ripped out
- Tafa thinks he should get a win bonus
Aussie UFC heavyweight Justin Tafa is furious after receiving a brutal, accidental eye prick on Sunday morning that left him bleeding and thinking his eyeball had been ripped out on Sunday morning.
The 29-year-old’s fight against Austin Lane lasted just 29 seconds and was ruled a no-contest after one of the more sickening eye-pokes in recent history at UFC’s Fight Night in Jacksonville.
Early in the opening round, Tafa launched a left hook, only for Lane to put his left hand in Tafa’s face.
Lane’s fingers stuck in both of Tafa’s eyes, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to call a time-out.
The Aussie’s eyes immediately swelled and began to bleed, forcing the fight to be called off.
Justin Tafa thought his eyeball had been ripped out after a sickening accident on Sunday
“I honestly thought my eye was ripped out,” Tafa told the Announce sun after the match. “That’s why I turned and stepped away,”
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Can I see my kids again?’
“I didn’t even care about the fight, I thought my eyeball had come out of my face.
“I just hope it’s not too much damage. Everything is blurry now. I can see your face, but everything’s just blurry.”
The no contest ruling doesn’t sit well with Tafa, who claims he deserves the win.
He took to Twitter after the fight, posting a photo of his injuries and pleading his case.
“I should get my WIN bonus,” he wrote afterwards.
“That’s a DQ.”
Lane, a former NFL player for the Jaguars, apologized for the incident on Twitter.
Tafa says his first thought was whether he would be able to see his children again
Tafa was annoyed by the incident and thinks he deserves a winning bonus
“Not how I wanted it to turn out,” he wrote.
“That s*** is on me and I hope your eye is okay.”
The UFC commentary team was shocked by the injury and clearly concerned for Tafa’s well-being.
“That’s as bad as it gets, that’s half the mark and Tafa leaned into it,” Jon Anik said when the replay showed the incident.
“His whole hand went into his eye,” said UFC great Daniel Cormier.
UFC pros also took to social media to share their concern and disgust.
“That eye prick was mean oh my god his eye is bleeding,” Aussie star Casey O’Neill wrote.
“Get this man to a hospital, Jesus,” Brian Kelleher said.
“Ugh, that was a bad poke, he needs to go to the hospital,” Belal Muhammad wrote