UFC veteran Randy Brown destroyed his foot a minute before getting into the cage to battle Elizeu Zaleski. The incident took place at UFC 302, and Brown believed the injury limited his fighting style and affected his performance. However, the fighter still managed to bag a unanimous decision win against his opponent
The fighter had plans to put on a big show for the fans, which may earn him a top-15 ranking. However, Brown suffered a severe injury that left him fighting tooth and nail in the three-round match. Brown spoke about the fight in a recent interview with The MMA Hour.
“Unfortunately, I wanted to go out there and get him out of there, but obviously easier said than done. Tough vet. Of course, I break my foot about 1:10 into the fight and that just automatically kills all my weapons on the right side. No right hand. No back leg. I’ve got to beat him with one hand. Less movement. We made the adjustments and did what we have to do.
“So I’m not happy because I wanted a finish. I should have finished him, but it’s all good. We move forward.”
The injury occurred after he threw a kick that bounced off Zaleski’s elbow, but the fighter hid the injury well.
“Watch the fight and put it at 3:50 of the first round. I throw a kick, a front kick that hit his elbow, and you hear it goes ‘pop’ Destroyed my food,” Brown said. “I go from 100 to 50, and I’m fighting with one hand the whole time because I can’t twist or nothing. The one time I did try to twist, I almost fell, and then I just had to stay on the one hand. But the caliber of fighter I am, we make adjustments, and we see it through.
“When it happened, I was just like, f*ck. In my head, I was like, ‘Of course. That’s my luck. That’s Randy Brown’s luck right there,”
Although the injury came as a shock to him and disrupted his initial plan, the fighter was still grateful for the win.
“That’s what we do. What can I say? That’s what we do. I can’t be happy. I’m happy, of course, I should celebrate the little things. I said that leading up to the fight. The press is always asking me, ‘Bro, are you happy? Are you proud? Yeah, I am, but the work is not done. I’ve got so much more to do.’
“I rank it up there with some of my best performances. I know I could have been better. I’m telling you all I was in top form, but the adversity made it good. The fact that I showed I could get out of that and still make those adjustments as a high caliber fighter.”
He will meet with his doctors to find out the damages and hopes for a quick recovery without going under the knife.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s not surgery. I want to keep this going, so I’ve got to get back in there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s not surgery, but we’ll see what happens,” Brown said.
