Across his eighteen fight career, Phillipe Nover has suffered his share of injuries, bumps and bruises. As is the case with many fighters, one of the uncomfortable realities of fighting for Nover is dealing with the painful and cosmetically questionable malady known as cauliflower ear.
Cauliflower ear is a condition that occurs when the ear is struck, and blood or other fluid collects under the perichondrium. This fluid in the outer ear causes cartilage to separate from the overlying perichondrium, leaving it without access to the nutrients necessary to remain living tissue.
When this tissue dies, fibrous tissue begins to grow in the overlying skin. This causes the outer ear to be permanently swollen and disfigured, as well as resemble its namesake, cauliflower.
The fun begins at about the two-minute and thirty second mark, as needle is pressed to flesh.
Before considering whether to try this yourself, keep in mind that Nover is a registered nurse and not just a fighter with access to a needle and some rubber gloves.
Phillipe Nover burst onto the MMA scene on season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. On The Ultimate Fighter, Nover impressed Ultimate Fighting Championship head honcho Dana White to such a degree that Dana set a nearly impossible standard to meet by calling Nover the next Anderson Silva.
While Nover never went on to become the next Anderson Silva, he has been able to put together a solid professional mixed martial record of eleven wins, six losses and one draw, and has only been finished once. In 2015, Nover won Ring of Combat’s lightweight championship before returning to fight in The Ultimate Fighting Championship at featherweight. Nover is currently 1-1 since returning to the Octagon, winning a split decision over Yui Chul Nam in May 2015 and losing a split decision to Zubaira Tukhugov in December 2015.
“>
Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.
