The co-main event at UFC 323 lasted just 26 seconds, and the fight ended not only in a fast but also gruesome fashion.Alexandre Pantoja, who was defending his UFC flyweight championship, suffered a dislocated shoulder about 10 seconds into the fight.
The injury occurred when challenger Joshua Van caught Pantoja’s leg on a head kick attempt. Pantoja suffered the injury when he landed on his left arm as he fell to the mat.
The diagnosis of dislocated shoulder paled in comparison to what a video replay showed – Pantoja’s left elbow appearing to pop out of joint and his arm bend in a way ligaments are not supposed to bend.
Seated on the Octagon mat, he made it clear he could not continue before the referee halted the bout. Pantoja, 35, was making his fifth title defense.
‘I’ve been through worse,’ Pantoja said in a statement posted later on Instagram. “I’ll come back even stronger, you can be sure of that. Thank you for the messages.’
And now the flyweight title belongs to Joshua Van, who at 24 became the second youngest champion in UFC history. Jon Jones became the youngest when he won the light heavyweight title at 23.
While Van celebrated in the ring, Pantoja headed to meet with the UFC medical staff. Megan Olivi of ESPN’s broadcast team reported she spoke with UFC’s chief medical physician Dr. Jeff Davidson.
‘He told me Pantoja had a left shoulder dislocation with spontaneous reduction,’ Olivi said on the broadcast, according to a report by MMA Fighting. ‘What that essentially means is his shoulder was dislocated but went back into place on its own.
‘On Monday in Florida, he will go for additional imaging to see the extent of the damage or if there is other damage that has been incurred and then he will meet with an orthopedic doctor as well.’
UFC CEO Dana White said the injury would prevent an immediate rematch between Pantoja and Van.
‘I don’t see him coming back anytime soon,’ White said.