UFC star Rose Namajunas has shown fans the grim effects of eye-poking in MMA after undergoing surgery in the wake of her defeat to Natalia Silva.
Namajunas, the former strawweight champion who has spent over a decade with the promotion, was poked in the eye multiple times during her unanimous-decision loss against Silva at UFC 324 in January, which forced her to go under the knife.
The 33-year-old needed canalicular tube surgery – which uses tiny silicone stents to fix a torn or damaged tear duct in the eyelid – after getting hit in her right eye on the night.
And following the procedure, Namajunas has shared a disturbing video on Instagram which shows one of the silicone tubes being pulled out of her eye.
‘So you wanna be a fighter? Three months and now Im healthy finally,’ she wrote alongside the clip. ‘Thumb and eye are all fixed up. Im a bit out of shape but I’m cleared to train now.’
Namajunas is expected to target a return to the Octagon later this year after successfully undergoing the operation.
UFC star Rose Namajunas has shared a disturbing video online after undergoing eye surgery
Namajunas, the former strawweight champion, was poked in the eye during a recent defeat
WARNING – Graphic content below
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She will hope to get back to winning ways when she does so, having lost two of her previous three bouts.
However, the Milwaukee fighter’s biggest concern is that eye-pokes are penalized more severely in the sport going forward.
‘I really hope eye pokes will be taken more seriously in the future,’ Namajunas added in her Instagram post. ‘I propose instant purse deduction even for an accident. An accident that could seriously affect a fighters health long term.
‘Anyways I’m just grateful that it was not more serious’.
Namajunas’ first three MMA contests came under the Invicta Fighting Championship banner in 2013, before she starred on UFC reality series The Ultimate Fighter in 2014 – which involves fighters battling it out for a contract with the promotion.
Despite losing in the final, she was still awarded $25,000 bonus awards for Performance of the Season and Fight of the Season, before making her UFC debut the following year.
After winning her first three bouts Namajunas suffered her first UFC defeat on points to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in 2016, before winning six of her next seven outings and picking up the strawweight title in the process.
Her form has deteriorated in recent years, with the January loss to Silva her fourth in seven fights.
