Photos: Nick Hein's grotesque shin hematoma from UFC Fight Night 75

Nick Hein earned a unanimous-decision victory over Yusuke Kasuya at UFC Fight Night 75 in Saitama, Japan. His third successful UFC performance didn’t come free of cost, however.

Hein (13-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) threw his first kick of the fight in the third round of the lightweight contest. He said Kasuya (9-2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) effectively checked the strike, which immediately caused a large hematoma to form on his left shin.

“Sergeant” limped backstage after the this past Saturday’s bout, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass from Saitama Super Arena, but he told MMAjunkie the pain wasn’t exactly a new sensation. According to the German fighter, he suffered a similar injury during his UFC Fight Night 69 win over Lukasz Sajewski in June and that’s why he was so hesitant to throw kicks during the first and second rounds.

“I know that when I kick, I usually damage my leg, so I kept the kicks for the last round,” Hein said. “This is from the first time I kicked. It was the same thing in the last fight. I kicked in the last round because I usually damage my leg when I do that.”

Despite the damage to his leg, Hein didn’t give up the round and outworked Kasuya for the decision on all three judges’ scorecards. He improved to 3-1 in the UFC with the victory.

Hein’s injury will not require surgery or keep him sidelined for long. However, he said he’d still like a break from competition following his third fight in 10 months.

“I’ve been at home this year maybe for seven weeks,” Hein said. “My son is also with me all the time on travel; my wife is my engine, and she keeps me going. I think we all really need a break.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 75, check out the UFC Events section of the site.