Chance Rencountre suffered punctured lung, 5 broken ribs from body kick delivered by Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 274

Chance Rencountre is resting and recovering in the hospital after suffering a number of injuries following a brutal body kick delivered by Andrey Koreshkov in their fight at Bellator 274.

The co-main event ended after Koreshkov connected with a spinning back kick that blasted Rencountre and sent him crashing down to the canvas with the fight being stopped at just 38 seconds into the opening round.

“Chance Rencountre suffered five broken ribs, a punctured lung from the heel kick landed by Andrey Koreshkov last night,” Rencountre’s manager Brian Butler said on Instagram on Sunday. “Not the outcome we wanted but the kick was well placed and would have stopped anyone. Next time we will get a full camp and come back stronger.

“Chance is in good spirits and prepping for surgery. Thank you to the Bellator MMA team who has been tremendous with all their assistance. Congratulations to Andrey Koreshkov and his team on the victory.”

Butler posted an x-ray showing the damage done to Rencountre’s ribs after he ate the spinning back kick in the first round in his fight.

For his part, Rencountre was obviously devastated by the loss and the injuries he suffered but he seemed in good spirits in his own post made on Instagram.

“Feeling pretty chipper for a man with 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung half full of blood and a bruised kidney,” Rencountre said. “Not the way I’d envisioned my Bellator return playing out but congratulations to Andrey Koreshkov and a big thank you to all the Bellator MMA staff for all their hard work both pre and post-fight. I’m feeling very well taken care of.

“Sh*t happens. Thanks everyone for their support and well wishes. [I’m going to] get me some metal wrapped around my ribs and come back like Wolverine with the adamantium skeleton.”

With surgery scheduled, there’s no exact timeline for his recovery or when Rencountre might be cleared to return to action.

As for Koreshkov, the victory moved him to 3-0 in his past three appearances as the former Bellator welterweight champion seeks to get back into title contention in 2022.