Photo | Ike Villanueva suffered a gruesome gash at UFC on ESPN 15

UFC light heavyweight Ike Villanueva suffered a gruesome gash above his right eye during his fight against Jordan Wright at UFC on ESPN 15.

Villanueva vs. Wright took place on the preliminary card of Saturday night’s UFC event in Las Vegas. The betting odds had the fight close on paper, with a slight lean to Wright. This was the second fight for Villanueva in the UFC after losing his promotional debut to Chase Sherman back in May. As for Wright, the bout marked his official UFC debut.

As soon as the fight started, Wright was super aggressive off the bat and was able to land a spinning heel kick that dropped Villanueva, who recovered quickly. Villanueva and Wright then locked horns in the clinch where Wright landed several knees to the forehead of Villanueva. One of those knees caused a brutal cut that led to the doctor stopping the fight.

https://twitter.com/Kyleidoscopic/status/1297323243985018880

It was a horrible cut in a terrible spot so it’s not surprising to see the doctor step in and wave the fight off. The doctor took one quick look at the cut before stopping it. Ultimately, it’s all about fighter safety and this was a really bad cut. Having said that, there were some fans on social media who felt that Villanueva could still continue, questioning the stoppage. But considering the damage the cut caused, it looks like the ref made a good call.

For Villanueva, he now drops to 0-2 in the UFC with two TKO losses. However, since this wasn’t a true knockout and a cut stoppage, perhaps the promotion’s matchmakers will give him another chance to pick up his first win inside the Octagon once this cut heals up, hopefully soon.

Do you think the doctor made the right call stopping the Ike Villanueva vs. Jordan Wright fight?