UFC fighter has bloodied teeth smashed in during violent defeat

Ion Cutelaba smashed Devin Clark's teeth during his violent victory at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas last night.

The Moldovan was on a poor run of form, having failed to secure a win in his last three cage outings and was eyeing redemption.

And he secured a dominant decision victory, while also severely damaging his opponent's teeth during the contest.

Cutelaba admitted that, while his punches are "strong", he was not happy.

“Yeah I’m not happy about that, yeah of course it was my knee and hand," the fighter said.

“I am very strong with my punches, but Clark is a really good fighter and I am strong and my punches are tough but he was a strong opponent.

“But I have inflicted other injuries on other opponents with my elbow and knee, it isn’t the worst.

“‘The Hulk’ is back, I’m staying here. I’m staying here this night. Thank you so much, Devin Clark. Good fight. I respect you. The next fight is fighting the top (of the division).”

Will Ion Cutelaba find his way back to the top? Comment below

Cutelaba was ahead throughout the contest on the scorecards dominating the fight early on against a tough light-heavyweight opponent.

And the damage to Clark's teeth was endured over the course of the fight, in particular at the end of the second round with his crisp striking style landing him several scoring shots.

Fighters' concerns have been elevated over injury in recent weeks, after some of the sports' stars have called for the "death kick" to be banned.

But despite its use by Khalil Rountree to defeated Modestas Bukauskas, Dan Hardy believes calls for a ban are "nonsense".

He told Submission Radio : “It shouldn’t be banned. It’s an effective technique. If we start banning effective techniques, then we’re going to find ourselves with a very, very limited rule set. I think that we need to recognise that it’s an occupational hazard.

"On football fields, rugby pitches, up and down, around the world on a weekend basis, people are getting their knees destroyed in the same way that Modestas did.

"It happens very rarely in MMA. Anybody that says it should be banned, have them name three people that it’s happened to, because it’s very difficult to recall any time when it actually happens in MMA."

There have been several injuries in the sport in recent months, with most notably Conor McGregor suffering a broken leg injury against Dustin Poirier.

But the Irish star has now provided a more positive injury update as he continues his rehabilitation.

Although he has bemoaned the lack of support and kind words during his injury comeback, after his leg break subjected him to a third defeat in his last four fights.

Elsewhere on the Las Vegas card, Anthony Smith recorded a first-round stoppage victory over Ryan Spann, which stole the show on the night.

And Cutelaba called out Smith during his post-fight press conference, as he looks to plot his return to a leading contender spot in the division.

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