Daron Cruickshank: I didn’t want to fight with one eye
Daron Cruickshank: “It would be terrible to lose an eye for some reason, because I don’t exactly know what’s wrong…I didn’t want to fight with one eye.”
At the TUF 20 Finale, Daron Cruickshank was in the middle of an exciting back and forth fight with fellow lightweight KJ Noons. Unfortunately the fight was stopped in the second round after the second accidental eye poke and Cruickshank wasn’t willing to risk permanent eye damage:
“It would be terrible to lose an eye for some reason, because I don’t exactly know what’s wrong,” Cruickshank told MMA Fighting.
K.J. Noons poked Cruickshank in the left eye in the first round of their The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale fight Friday night in Las Vegas and then landed another eye-poke to the exact same spot in the second. At that point, Cruickshank’s vision blurred and he couldn’t see. Referee John McCarthy wanted to give Cruickshank more time to reciver, but Cruickshank told the doctor he was done. The bout was ruled a no contest.
“There was no recovering,” he said. “I didn’t want to fight with one eye.”