Constantinos Philippou couldn’t breathe after liver-kick loss at UFC Fight Night 35

DULUTH, Ga. – As if you didn’t already posses this knowledge, it’s probably worth repeating, especially in light of UFC Fight Night 35's main event: You don’t want to get kicked in the liver.

Just how bad are such blows? Constantinos Philippou, whom Luke Rockhold stopped with first-round kicks to the body in Wednesday’s middleweight headliner, described the aftermath of the TKO loss, which left him crumpled on the mat.

“You can’t breathe, and it is painful,” Philippou said after the loss, which aired on FOX Sports 1 from Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. “It took me probably a minute to inhale oxygen again.

“They were asking if I was OK, and I couldn’t say yes – so I gave them the thumbs up. Basically (saying) that I’m still alive, that I’m OK.”

Rockhold (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a former Strikeforce champion looking to rebound from a UFC-debut loss to top contender Vitor Belfort, can thank an early-fight blow for helping to set up the fight-ending sequence. Rockhold’s first substantial strike was a kick to the face, and it opened a sizable gash on Philippou’s face.

“The first kick got me, and I was trying not to show it,” Philippou (12-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) said. “I tried to push the pace a little bit because I knew the fight possibly was going to get stopped (by the doctor).”

Unfortunately, his opponent’s heightened sense of aggression worked to Rockhold’s favor. Just a few minutes into the bout, he tagged Philippou with two jarring shots to the body. Philippou then fell to the mat, and Rockhold brought about the stoppage with a swift soccer kick to the ribs (check out the Rockhold vs. Philippou video highlights).

“The first kick got me, and I was trying not to show it,” Philippou said. “But it took him a couple seconds, and he landed the second kick on the same spot. It took the wind out of me.”

And that, ultimately, marked the end for the 34-year-old fighter.

If there’s any silver lining, Philippou said, it’s that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Aside from a bruised ego – the result of his current back-to-back losses that followed a five-fight UFC winning streak – Philippou has no ailments that will keep him on the sidelines.

“It didn’t go my way tonight,” he said. “So I’ve got to go back, heal and do it again. Fortunately enough, I didn’t break any ribs. So I’ll be good as new next week.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.