BELAL MUHAMMAD was left with two horrific war wounds following his ill-fated welterweight title defence against Jack Della Maddalena.
The Palestinian-born American looked to make the first defence of the 170lbs strap he wrestled from ‘ clutches last July early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 315.
But his reign as king of the welterweights came to an abrupt end .
Della Maddalena, 28, was electric with his striking from the outset and peppered the former champion’s face with pinpoint punches.
He opened up a huge gash under the left eye of Muhammad with a beautiful knee in the fifth round.
But the extent of the damage Muhammad suffered only emerged once doctors gave him a once-over backstage.
A photo shared by UFC supremo showed that as well as a cut under his eye, Muhammad’s upper lip had been SPLIT IN HALF.
And White couldn’t help but praise the 36-year-old for the grit and determination he showed to continue fighting with a horror movie-esque cut.
Sharing the photo on his Instagram story, White wrote: “What a WAR!! Broken nose, orbital and split lip. #Respect.”;;
So severe were the injuries Muhammad suffered that he was rushed backstage without a post-fight interview.
But he broke his silence on the defeat on X, writing: “Allah’s plan is the best plan.
“Alhamdillah for everything. Thank you to all my supporters. I’ve been here before and I’ll be back.”;;
Victory over Muhammad saw JDM become only the third-ever Australian to win UFC gold.
He said: “It’s exactly how I thought it would feel. It feels f***ing good.
“I knew I had to be smart on my feet. I should have been a bit sharper with the shots.
“Coming in there against someone like Belal with that pressure wrestling, I knew I had to be smart.
“I thought I was ahead, I wanted to take him out of there. Belal’s the man, he’s a tough dude.
“Australia, we got three of these babies. Let’s go!”;;
