Rongzhu suffered multiple facial fractures in TKO loss to Chris Padilla at UFC Vegas 97

UFC fighter Rongzhu suffered a handful of facial fractures in his brutal TKO defeat at the hands of Chris Padilla.

After being released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship a few year back, Rongzhu worked hard to get back to the big dance. Through the Road to UFC showcase, he went 3-0 and earned a contract with the company once again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a winning return last night against Chris Padilla.

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After a competitive affair, Padilla landed a brutal elbow on Rongzhu that led to an immediate problem with his eye. He was visibly concerned, and it didn’t take long before he was deemed unable to continue.

As you can probably imagine, he headed to the hospital after that. As it turns out, it was even more severe than a lot of people could’ve imagined.

Chris Padilla’s elbow on Rongzhu pic.twitter.com/aZkjYPtzkL

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 7, 2024

Padilla smashes Rongzhu

As per MMA Mania, Rongzhu was transported to the local hospital following his fight for a precautionary scan of his face. In addition to the multiple fractures, he reportedly still couldn’t open his eye when the report was issued.

It’s a real shame for a fighter who had worked so hard to get back into the UFC. Given the toughness and resilience he showed, you’d have to think he’ll be given another chance to shine when he can get back to 100% fitness. Alas, that’s certainly the kind of damage that’ll take a while to come back from, and it’ll give him time to reflect on where things went wrong.

What do you believe should be next for Rongzhu in the wake of such a devastating defeat? Is this one of the worst injuries you’ve seen in MMA and if not, which bad ones come to mind? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!