Throat injury forces UFC 312 fighter into emergency hospital visit

The Australian very nearly secured his second win in a row at UFC 312.

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

One fighter at UFC 312 ended up in the hospital after suffering a freak injury that he unknowingly fought through.

Defending Champions Reign Supreme At UFC 312

Last weekend’s UFC 312 card took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and featured plenty of local fighters competing in the lead-up to the night’s highly-anticipated title bouts.

A rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland headlined UFC 312. | (Zuffa LLC)

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Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight belt for the second time when he defeated Sean Strickland in their headlining rematch, while the co-main event saw Weili Zhang secure her third title defense when she handed the formerly-undefeated Tatiana Suarez her very first loss.

Weili Zhang dominated Tatiana Suarez as a pre-fight underdog in the UFC 312 co-main event. | (Zuffa LLC)

The other three main card fights produced a 35-second finish and a couple of entertaining scraps, and in the night’s featured prelim fight Australia’s Jack Jenkins was submitted in the third round when he met Gabriel Santos in a featherweight contest.

Jenkins Hospitalized With Throat Injury

Jenkins very nearly stopped Santos in the opening round before the Brazilian pulled off an incredible rally, and according to Australian MMA the 31-year-old unknowingly suffered a serious injury fairly early in the fight and had to be hospitalized as a result.

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“The injury occurred towards the end of the first round, when Jenkins suffered a fracture to his thyroid cartilage, leading to an air leak into his chest and neck.”

Jack Jenkins was hospitalized followed his fight at UFC 312. | (Zuffa LLC)

“Following the round, he reported numbness and a loss of strength in his left arm. Jenkins is currently under medical supervision, but pending positive reports, he is expected to be released sometime tomorrow.”

While he did end up losing the fight, Jenkins gave little to no indication during the second and third rounds against Santos that he’d suffered what sounds like quite a painful injury.

Jack Jenkins very nearly finished Gabriel Santos before being submitted in the final round. | (Zuffa LLC)

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It thankfully sounds like “Phar” won’t be out of action for long, and next time out the Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner will try and bounce back from a loss that leaves his promotional record at 3-2.

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