Sometimes all it takes to make a great fight moment is to connect with that one good elbow— the kind that lands so flush you’d think it were magnetic.

This was certainly the case during this effective display of damaging ground and pound, where an MMA cage fighter put forward his best devastating elbow performance, inadvertently tearing his opponent’s ear off with a well-landed elbow blow to the head.

It is a regular occurrence for fighters to go on and develop what is known as cauliflower ear— a deformity that is acquired through continuous friction trauma to the ear— essentially causing a pocket full of blood to form in the outer ear, better known as a hematoma.

As awful as that sounds, most fighters consider cauliflower ears to be a badge of honour— a so-called war wound that showcases to the world that they have fought the good fight.

In this particular situation however, the presence of the cauliflower ear deformity was what made this fighter so susceptible to this type of horrific injury.

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It can be seen that after the devastating elbow landed, the fighter’s head bounced off the mat, resulting in his already inflamed ear to rub up against the mat.

This created enough instantaneous friction and trauma to his ear that it caused it to disconnect entirely.

Although cauliflower ears remain a common phenomenon amongst fighters, there are certainly precautions that can be taken to protect against it. Most importantly is to always wear headgear, to avoid being hit in the side of the head and to ensure a hematoma is treated as soon as it begins to develop.

It’s no secret that this cage fighter probably regrets not taking his cauliflower ear formation more seriously. Then again, maybe having this Evander Holyfield-esque injury is something that this fighter will wear around with pride.