Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 184 featured prelim ended due to a gruesome eye injury.
The 160-pound catchweight fight between Devonte Smith and short-notice replacement Justin Jaynes was waved off at the 3:38 mark of Round 2 following an assessment by the cageside physician at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The damage occurred after Smith (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) took Jaynes (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to the canvas. From side control, Smith leaned on Jaynes’ face and landed short elbows. Smith unsuccessfully worked for a rear-naked choke and he rose back to his feet. Referee Keith Peterson allowed the grounded Jaynes to return to his feet to square off with the standing Smith.
Immediately after he signaled the restart, Peterson called timeout, as Jaynes sported nasty, purple-blue swelling under his left eye. The doctor took less than five seconds to give his assessment. He saw enough and the fight was called.
The victory punches Smith’s ticket back into the win column following a loss in August 2019 to Khama Worthy. Smith had not competed since, as he spent 19 months recovering from a torn Achilles and the death of his sister, Dariene.
Check out Jaynes’ eye in the image below:
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Our featured prelim is called after swelling on Justin Jaynes's eye. #UFCVegas18 pic.twitter.com/8HrtyXZmSI
— UFC (@ufc) February 7, 2021
