A Helpful Guide to Eye Health and MMA Fighter Eye Injuries

In mixed martial arts, eye injuries are some of the most damaging occurrences that can take place during a fight. Even the slightest graze from a poke can have severe repercussions to a fighter’s time in the cage, and outside of it. Even in the world-famous UFC Octagon, accidental retinal trauma has plagued even the most key contests, including top contender bouts to full-on championship tilts. From Hall of Fame member Daniel Cormier to current welterweight king Belal Muhammad, blows and, or, pokes to the eyes have left lasting impacts on their careers and in the memories of fight fans. It weakens the strongest fighters, sending them to look for an eye exam near me post fight.

Here are five of the most memorable eye injuries in UFC history.

5 Memorable Eye Injuries in Critical UFC Fights

Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort UFC on FX 7

Today, Michael Bisping is known as the greatest mixed martial arts competitor that the United Kingdom has ever produced. Winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 light heavyweight tournament to earn his UFC contract in 2006, the Englander blasted into the UFC with a perfect 11-0 record. He then triumphed in his next three fights before suffering his first loss to Rashad Evans.

Dropping down to middleweight for his next trip to the cage, Bisping cemented his place as a strong contender in the division, only losing three times over the next five years. However, it was in 2013 when “The Count” fought in one of the most important matches of his career against former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. Taking the Brazilian bruiser to the second round, Bisping was hit with a monstrous head kick that detached the retina from his right eye—blunt eye trauma that was devastating to say the least.

The damage done to his eye was extraordinary, even more so after the injury went undiscovered by Bisping for quite some time after the fight with Belfort. This caused his eye to become majorly compromised, despite having immediate surgery after the detachment was recognized, leading him to become almost entirely blind in his right eye.

While this would have been a likely death blow to the career of any other athlete, Bisping, using his unnatural determination, and creative ways to pass his medical tests, went on to embark on a legendary resurgence. Starting with a unanimous decision win over C. B. Dollaway at UFC 186, he elevated himself to title contention by toppling Thales Leites and Anderson Silva to secure a main event showdown with then 185-lb kingpin Luke Rockhold. Meeting the American at UFC 199, Bisping shocked the world by knocking out Rockhold, avenging a previous loss against him and becoming the first British UFC champion.

Without a doubt, Bisping’s is one of the most famous eye injuries in professional sport, let alone MMA.

Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic UFC 252

In late 2018, Daniel Cormier was on top of the world, in more ways than one. Then in the midst of a eight-bout unbeaten streak, the former US Olympic Wrestling Team member had cemented his place in the annals of combat sports greatness by winning both the light heavyweight and heavyweight championships. He also became the first male competitor in UFC history to defend two titles in two different divisions, garnering three at 205-lb before moving up permanently to 265-lb and defending his second strap once.

Then, at UFC 241, his time at the top in the largest weight class in the sport came to an emphatic end when he was knocked out by his nemesis Stipe Miocic in the fourth round after taking the belt away from the Ohio native a year prior. Pelting the once heavyweight apex with a wide array of shots in the early stanzas, Cormier appeared to be well on his way toward securing a comfortable decision win. That was until Miocic rallied in the fourth with a series of brutal body shots that allowed him to find the champion’s chin and the stoppage.

Tied at one victory a piece, the promotion put together a trilogy fight that took place at UFC 252 in 2020 at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. Leading up to the final showdown with Miocic, Cormier stated that he was going to retire regardless of the result of the match. Although he looked to have taken the pace after a great first round, “DC” was nearly finished in the second after receiving a thudding hook from Miocic. Surviving to the horn, he tried to gain some ground after a dominant rush by the champion.

Then, in a tragic turn of events, Cormier received a grizzly eye poke despite fighter gloves meant to protect, when Miocic unintentionally stuck his fingers out to push his opponent away. Immediately, the shape of the challenger’s eye began to change, becoming incredibly swollen and starting to close. It was later revealed that the accidental foul had torn his cornea.

Even though this would have stopped most fighters, Cormier found the grit and determination to take Miocic the full five round distance, notably winning the fourth round on two of the judge’s scorecards. In the end, however, it was the Midwesterner that came out on top with the unanimous decision. Sticking true to his word, Cormier hung up his gloves following the event, fully committing to becoming a high-profile commentator for the UFC.

Belal Muhammad vs. Leon Edwards UFC Fight Night 187

Since falling short to Geoff Neal, Belal Muhammad had embarked on a dominant tear through the UFC’s welterweight class, winning his next four matches in a row. This unchecked run brought the Chicago resident into his first ever main event in 2021 at UFC Fight Night 187, where he was slated to compete opposite striking specialist Leon Edwards. Returning to action after nearly two years, Edwards had largely struggled to get into the cage after multiple failed bookings due to the burgeoning Covid-19 pandemic. Before he tangled with Muhammad, “Rocky” was pegged to take on other divisional titans such as Tyron Woodley and Khamzat Chimaev.

Bloodying his American adversary with a series of punches and kicks, Edwards looked on pace for a possible early finish in the opening rounds. However, an inadvertent eye poke from the Englishman caused Muhammad to collapse to the floor in pain as he covered it up, looking for first-aid treatment from medical personnel. The reality of the situation really began to sink in when “Remember the Name” began to yell that he couldn’t see anything out of his eye due to an eye injury enforced by Rocky. This understandably caused the bout to be ruled a no-contest, bringing Muhammad’s first main event to a disappointing close.

Rebounding from the incident, Muhammad fought two more times in 2021, taking unanimous decision victories over Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson. From here, he put together another impressive win streak, subsequently taking down Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns to challenge Edwards once more, who had already won and defended the 170-lb strap twice. Unlike in their first meeting, Muhammad absolutely dominated the European for all five rounds on the feet and on the ground, ripping the belt from Edwards with a masterclass unanimous decision win.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong UFC Fight Night 252

When former Olympic gold medalist, Henry Cejudo walked away from mixed martial arts in 2020, he left behind a sterling legacy as one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time. Leaving the UFC on a high note, the California native had achieved two-division champion status after seizing the flyweight and bantamweight titles.

Then, as abruptly as he exited the organization, Cejudo suddenly returned to competition in 2023, snagging a main event spot at UFC 288 against then 135-lb incumbent Aljamain Sterling, where he lost a close split decision. He would next be paired up with Sterling’s teammate, and now current champion, Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, losing a clear unanimous decision to the Georgian after being out grappled for three rounds.

Losing two fights back-to-back, Cejudo headed into his first Octagon appearance of 2025 at UFC Fight Night 252 with much pressure on his shoulders, with the idea of permanent retirement lingering in the air. Colliding with bantamweight elite Song Yadong, Cejudo began to show new life in his striking, delivering volleys of hard blows to his younger opponent. Although Yadong was able to keep up the pace and land his own stiff punches, “Triple C” looked to be showing shades of his previous glory.

But then the Chinese phenom woefully stuck his finger into the charging Cejudo’s eye late into the third round. Taking the full five minutes to recover from the foul, Cejudo re-entered the bout, though he remained hesitant to engage in another fire fight due to his vision being apparently compromised as a result of the eye injury Song enforced. He did look to be ready to go out for the fourth round, but the damage to his eye had already been done, resulting in Cejudo willingly retiring from the contest, with Yadong being awarded the technical decision victory.

Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rębecki UFC 308

2024 was a fantastic year for fight fans, with the UFC putting on multiple Fight of the Year contenders like Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree Jr. and Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway. At UFC 308 one of the more explosive and exciting fights took place between rising lightweight prospects Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rębecki.

With a combined mixed martial arts record of 32-3, these two men had rarely tasted defeat, and are known to be lethal finishers. Needless to say, the pairing lived up to its hype, and then some, with each competitor throwing at over 160 strikes each. However, it was the Pole who began to take over in the second after nearly closing Orolbai’s right eye with several destructively accurate blows. By the time the first round had come to an end, the Kyrgyzstan prodigy’s eye had swelled considerably, leading to speculation that the contest would be stopped before long.

Amazingly, Orolbai would continue to press on, despite only possessing half his vision, dueling Rębecki in what turned out to be an extraordinary slugfest. When it was over, the 155-lb standouts had left everything inside the cage, painting a decent size of it in a dark crimson color. While Orolbai deserves incredible praise for his noteworthy performance, it was Rębecki who ultimately got his hand raised with a razor-thin split decision.   

Unfortunately, eye injuries are common place in the UFC and will continue to be until the gloves are fixed!