UFC 332 sent three fighters from Delta Center to a Salt Lake City hospital on Saturday night (Oct. 3, 2026). UFC officials confirmed to MMAmania.com that Court McGee, Andrey Pulyaev and Bruce Whitehead were all transported for precautionary evaluations. Dana White then said at the post-fight press conference that Pulyaev had suffered a broken jaw.
Pulyaev (10-6) was knocked out by Suriname’s Damian Pinas in their middleweight bout and was taken in for CT scans of his head and face. The jaw fracture is the only injury confirmed so far. The bigger problem for the 29-year-old Russian is his record. He has lost three straight, and the last two ended in hard finishes. MMAmania noted that his contract situation could decide whether he gets another fight, and on current form that is a tough case to make.
McGee (22-15) had the same CT scans on his head and face after Eric Nolan knocked him out in the opening bout of the night. “The Crusher” announced his retirement after the loss, which ends a UFC run of 25 Octagon appearances. That is a long career by any measure. The ending was rough, though. McGee leaves on a two-fight skid and lost five of his last six.
Whitehead (8-3) had the worst luck of the three. He took his UFC debut on short notice against Jacobe Smith and was hit with a low blow seconds after the opening bell. He recovered and chose to keep fighting, but Smith knocked him out later in Round 1. Whitehead was taken for a precautionary testicular ultrasound. The loss ended a two-fight winning streak and turned what should have been a big night into his first UFC setback.
As of Sunday, neither McGee’s scan results nor Whitehead’s ultrasound results had been made public. Hospital trips like these are standard after knockouts or damaging fights, and the promotion sends fighters in as a precaution even when no serious injury is suspected. The broken jaw is the confirmed casualty. The other two are waiting on results.
My take: McGee got to choose his exit. Plenty of fighters with 25 UFC fights never get that, and announcing it in the cage, injured or not, is a cleaner ending than his recent results suggested. I’m not worried about Pulyaev’s next booking. I’m worried about the pattern, because two brutal finishes in a row plus a broken jaw is a lot of damage for a 29-year-old. And I’d give Whitehead another shot without thinking twice. He took the fight on short notice, got fouled before he’d even settled in, and still kept going. That’s the kind of fighter who should get a full camp and a second fight once the ultrasound comes back clean.
