You don't hear about thumb injuries all that often in the Octagon, but when they do occur, they tend to be absolutely nasty
That's certainly the case with the injury Anthony Birchak picked up in his victory over Dileno Lopes on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 90 on Thursday.
Birchak eked out a split decision victory in Las Vegas, on the same night that Eddie Alvarez took the lightweight belt from Rafael dos Anjos and Joe Duffy secured a 25-second submission against Mitch Clarke.
And he looked to have been repeatedly favouring his hand from the end of the first round when blood began gushing through his glove.
10 minutes later and after Birchak's hand was raised, the Arizona native proudly showed off the battle scar of what turned out to be a compound fracture of his thumb.
https://twitter.com/MMAInjury/status/751237128885985281
It might not be the worst injury we've seen in our years watching mixed martial arts, with
George Roop's broken leg among those to recoil in shock in the recent past.
But that doesn't make Birchak's break any less graphic, or, indeed, any less shocking.
Imagine fighting a full 10 minutes with a bone poking through the skin of your thumb.
That's what these men and women are made of!
