Three fighters went from the Meta APEX to a local hospital after UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday night. Promotion officials confirmed to MMAmania.com that Thomas Petersen, Murtazali Magomedov and Jonny Parsons were each sent for precautionary CT scans of the head and face, and MiddleEasy’s Alexander Behunin also reported the hospital checks. As of Sunday morning, none of the results had been made public.
Two of the three won their fights, which tells you plenty about how the Nov. 7 card went.
Petersen (12-5) had the wildest night of the group. Gabriel Lorenco, making his UFC debut, dropped him multiple times in a brutal first round, and for a few minutes it looked like the fight would be stopped. Petersen got through it, took over once Lorenco started to fade, and finished him by TKO in the third round with 13 seconds left on the clock. The comeback earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus and evened his Octagon record at 4-4. Since landing his contract on the Contender Series, Petersen has alternated wins and losses for his entire UFC run, so a man who never puts two wins together just took a bonus while spitting blood.
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Magomedov (12-0) went the full three rounds with Jose Delano and took a unanimous decision, handing the Brazilian his first UFC loss. The 27-year-old from Kyrgyzstan is now 2-0 in the promotion, another Contender Series graduate. His debut is the one people have bookmarked: he tapped Melsik Baghdasaryan in 77 seconds with a Scottish Twister, the first time anyone had pulled off that submission inside the Octagon. Saturday was a different kind of test, a long fight against an opponent who had never lost in the UFC, and he came out of it with his zero intact and his face in need of a scan.
Parsons (9-4) had the hardest night of anyone. He fought in the opening bout, his first appearance in more than three years after a long recovery from debilitating hip and groin injuries. José Souza ended it in the first round, landing a right uppercut and following with a left hook that put Parsons on the canvas. The knockout snapped a six-fight winning streak and handed “The Sluggernaut” his first UFC loss. Three years of rehab, and the welterweight comeback was over before the first round ended.
These trips are routine. The UFC sends fighters to the hospital as a precaution after damaging three-round fights and heavy knockouts, and MMA Mania noted as much in its report.
My quick take: the Scottish Twister made Magomedov a highlight, and Saturday made him a fighter worth taking seriously. Two UFC wins is too small a sample to start booking him against ranked names, and I’d say the same about anybody with a viral submission and a clean record. A decision over a previously unbeaten opponent that ends with a CT scan teaches him and his coaches more than 77 seconds ever could. As for Parsons, he waited three years for that walk to the cage, and I hope the scans come back clean and nobody rushes him back. MMA Mania said it will update the fighters’ health status when results are disclosed.
