A frightening scene in Las Vegas.
Ahead of UFC 324, prelim fighter Cameron Smotherman successfully made weight but collapsed getting off the scale, falling onto the stage and appearing to hit his head before lying unconscious on the floor.
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The scary scene saw many promotion staff come to Smotherman’s aid as they called for doctors to give him medical treatment.
Smotherman’s prelims fight against Ricky Turcios has been canceled, The Post can confirm.
He was transported to a local hospital, with Ariel Helwani tweeting the latest update on his condition: “Cameron Smotherman is “feeling way better,” per his teammate Adrian Yanez. “His CT Scan and X-Rays came back clear. Stitched up his chin from the impact that caused a cut.””
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As personnel surrounded Smotherman, they rolled him onto his back while his eyes were open and he appeared to float in and out of consciousness.
Smotherman had to be carried off by UFC personnel, as he could not walk off under his own power.
With the fight canceled, Smotherman can receive IV fluids and other medical attention at the hospital.
IV’s are not allowed by state athletic commissions when weight cutting due to the potential ramifications.
Smotherman weighed in at 135.5 pounds, right on target for his fight with Turcios.
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Weight cutting is long known as one of the nastiest parts of the fight business in both MMA and boxing, as fighters drain themselves of all fluid to get down to contracted weights.
Scenes like that have occurred previously in combat sports, but this is perhaps the most shocking considering Smotherman his hit head and chin on the stage while in free-fall.
As for the other fighters on the card, Deiveson Figueiredo missed weight by 2.5 pounds ahead of his fight with Umar Nurmagomedov, though the bout will remain on the card.
– This story originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.