Hematomas and swelling are commonplace in combat sports, but every once in a while, there is an instance when a fighter takes some damage that creates outrageous results.
Heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov had one of those instances in his last fight on Saturday, a loss via eighth-round TKO to Guido Vianello in Quebec City, Canada.
After the fight, Makhmudov took to Instagram to show off some unbelievable swelling on the right side of his face.
IFL TV reposted the image on their X account:
Fighters are warriors, and rather than freaking out from this kind of facial damage, they may often look at these injuries as badges that symbolize the battles they have endured.
Makhmudov partially represents that concept, but he also sent a message to anyone who thought he quit or asked the referee to stop the fight.
“After multiple head strikes, my left eye completely closed, so I didn’t see all the attacks from the right and the doctor stopped the fight in the 8th round,” Makhmudov wrote in the caption for the post. “AlhamduliLlyah in any position ☝🏻 did everything what I can.”
The doctor appears to have made the right decision, as the swelling hindered Makhmudov’s vision. The loss was Makhmudov’s second in his career as he slipped to 19-2 with 18 KOs to his credit. His losses have come by TKO or KO, and those defeats happened in the past year.
At 6’5” and 260 pounds, Makhmudov is a massive heavyweight. His size and power carried him to an 18-0 start in his pro career. Still, he was stopped in December 2023 by Agit Kabayel. He rebounded with a second-round KO win over Miljan Rovcanin in May and was stopped by Vianello this past weekend.
Because of his two losses in the last three fights and the damage he has taken in a relatively short period, it could be a while before we see Makhmudov back in the ring. Makhmudov may have hit his ceiling as a potential title contender.
At the very least, he must regroup and perhaps revisit his skills, especially in head movement.
As for Vianello, he is beginning to look like a fighter who could make some noise in the division. Vianello’s two losses resulted from a cut that led to a stoppage vs. Jonathan Rice in January 2023 and a split-decision defeat to Efe Ajagba in April.
The 30-year-old Italian is now 13-2-1 with 11 KOs. It’ll be interesting to see who Vianello gets in his next fight.
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