UFC fighter Charles Oliveira was removed from his fight against Max Holloway with his neck braced on a stretcher, according to Matt Erickson of USA Today.
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Holloway Wins by Technical Knockout
Sunday, Aug. 23
Oliveira injured his neck in the first round of the fight, and MMAFighting.com described the scene: “From the replay, it looked like Oliveira twisted his neck or shoulder against the cage going for the takedown.”
He was transported to a local hospital and had movement in his extremities, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports.
Oliveira and Holloway headlined Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 74 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, but the fight was cut short due to the injury. Holloway won by technical knockout as a result, and he commented on the developments, per MMAFighting.com:
Holloway: Send your prayers to Charles. It’s part of the game. It’s sad to see that happening. This is how we make a living.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 24, 2015
Michael Stets of MMAMania.com provided more context for the injury:
Holloway began the five-round, 145-pound contest creating angles for his striking attack and ripping punches to the body of Oliveira. "Do Bronx" went in on a double-leg takedown attempt, but Holloway was able to defend it by using an under hook underneath the left arm of Oliveira.
The No. 5-ranked UFC Featherweight wanted no part of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and stood back up and moved toward the center of the Octagon. As Oliveria stood up, he immediately clutched his left collarbone area and signaled that he did not wish to continue to fight.
It was difficult to tell exactly how severe the injury was given the timing during the fight, but Erickson explained why there was such concern and caution used with the stretcher: “Hard to speculate just what the injury might be, but given he grabbed at his throat and neck, they're obviously taking no chances.”
Thanks to the technical knockout, Holloway moved to 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the UFC with the win. It also marked his seventh consecutive victory.
Neil Magny defeated Erick Silva in the other marquee fight on the card, but all of the attention and concern was on Oliveira’s well-being.
