A mixed martial arts fighter has had his finger severed during a match in the United States, but doctors were eventually able to reattach it.
Key points:
- The fight was stopped when the referee noticed Khetag Pliev was missing a finger
- Pliev said he wanted to keep the fight going because he felt he was winning
- It took a couple of minutes, but the finger was eventually found in Pliev’s glove
Khetag Pliev was injured during the second round of his fight on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
The match was only stopped when the referee noticed Pliev was missing his left ring finger.
WARNING: graphic vision of the injury and reattached finger below.
“In the second round, he [opponent Devin Goodale] caught my glove with one hand and held it,” Pliev told ESPN.
“I felt my finger snapped.
“He kept pulling my glove and my finger snapped. We kept fighting.
“But the doctor saw that and stopped the fight.”
Event promoter Rob Haydak told ESPN that officials began searching inside the cage where the match was held, and an announcement was made to the crowd, asking them to look for it also.
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After several minutes, the finger was ultimately discovered inside Pliev’s glove, Mr Haydak said.
“It was crazy,” he said.
Pliev was taken to a hospital where the finger was reattached.
He said the doctor told him he tore 50 per cent of the tendon on the finger, and he may need another procedure.
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His opponent, Goodale, was ruled the winner by TKO.
Pliev, though, said he would appeal against the decision to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, claiming Goodale illegally grabbed his gloves during the bout.
Pliev, 37, is Russia-born and competed in the 2012 Olympics as a wrestler for Canada.
AP
