UFC star Rongzhu suffered a shocking injury to his eye which has many fans fearing that he could lose his sight.
Fighting just his second bout in his professional career, the Chinese star suffered multiple fractures to his eye socket as he lost to Chris Padilla at UFC Vegas 97 on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old was the victim of a vicious elbow strike in the second round that immediately left huge damage.
Rongzhu stood in the middle of the Octagon and accused his opponent of using his fingers to poke him in the eye.
UFC star Rongzhu was hit by a vicious elbow by Chris Padilla
X
And while he tried to continue the fight, referee Kerry Hatley called a halt to the clash shortly after.
That was because Rongzhu's eye had swelled up significantly to the point where he could not even open it.
He was taken to hospital for precautionary measures and his manager Little Yama has since confirmed the damage.
The MMA fighter suffered multiple fractures and has not been able to open his eye.
Fans were left shocked at the incident at the time, with one saying: "That RongZhu TKO was nasty, I actually thought he might go blind on that eye..."
JUST IN: England football players glad to see the back of Gareth Southgate ahead of Finland clash
And another posted: "WOW!!! Is that the nastiest elbow you've ever seen. Chris Padilla completely destroys Rongzhu left eye."
While a third wrote: "Hoping he is okay."
Padilla did not show any sympathy for his rival after claiming the victory, hitting out at his suggestion of using dirty tactics.
UFC star Rongzhu has still not been able to open his eye
X
The American said: "Who's splitting someone with an elbow, swelling their eye up?
"That's why in the cage I was saying, 'No mas' because he was saying 'Eye poke, eye poke'.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
The ref calls it! ❌
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) September 7, 2024
🇺🇸 Chris Padilla's headed home with the TKO victory as Rongzhu can't continue! #UFCVegas97 pic.twitter.com/Ol7G4tmQo3
"Come on, boy! I eye-poked you with an elbow. I don't got fingers on my elbows.
"You know that s*** smushed your eye. That’s why I was like, ‘Ah! I must kill you now’ and when they called the [doctor] in, I was like, ‘He don’t want no more’.
"This is no disrespect to him because I think I really smushed his eye, personally. I felt that b**** mush, excuse my language."
You may like
