I previously mentioned that Kim Couture was badly bloodied in her professional mixed martial arts debut against Kim Rose last weekend. But I didn't realize exactly how Couture's jaw was broken until I read this interview with Sherdog and re-watched the video of the first round:
The fight begins 2:30 into that video, after the introductions, and you can see that Rose lands a vicious right hand at the outset.
Couture explains what happened, from her perspective:
Some folks have criticized Couture's husband, Randy Couture, for not throwing in the towel as he stood in Kim's corner and watched her get pummeled, but Kim told Sherdog, "My husband is not going to throw in the towel and I would have killed him if he would have."
Couture said her jaw was broken in two places, but she said reports that her nose and orbital bone were broken are incorrect. She also said that although the broken jaw left her in excruciating pain throughout the fight, she never considered tapping out. And she said that as soon as her jaw heals, she wants a rematch with Rose.
The fight begins 2:30 into that video, after the introductions, and you can see that Rose lands a vicious right hand at the outset.
Couture explains what happened, from her perspective:
I just walked out there to touch gloves and she just hit me. She wasn't interested in touching gloves and that first shot is what broke my jaw. My left hand wasn't even up to protect myself -- it was straight out to touch her glove. She took her shot, connected it and dropped me. That first shot is what broke it.Couture is classy about it and stops short of calling it a cheap shot, but it is a potential problem in both boxing and MMA that fighters leave themselves exposed when they try to touch gloves. Unfortunately, I think the best solution might just be to do away with that tradition.
Some folks have criticized Couture's husband, Randy Couture, for not throwing in the towel as he stood in Kim's corner and watched her get pummeled, but Kim told Sherdog, "My husband is not going to throw in the towel and I would have killed him if he would have."
Couture said her jaw was broken in two places, but she said reports that her nose and orbital bone were broken are incorrect. She also said that although the broken jaw left her in excruciating pain throughout the fight, she never considered tapping out. And she said that as soon as her jaw heals, she wants a rematch with Rose.
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